The construction and building industries are no stranger to challenges arising from economic uncertainty, social pressures, and shifts in market dynamics. This sometimes turbulent landscape can be difficult for us all to navigate, however it is always insightful to hear other industry experts share their views. As with every year, we looked forward to reading Building Magazine’s forecast for 2025, and were pleased to see so many prestigious individuals share their sentiments for the year ahead.

Optimistically anticipating an increase in consistent funding

Like Rachel Bell of Stride Treglown, we feel optimistic that the government’s targets towards developments in housing, schooling, and hospitals can be approached with confidence. While these targets may seem ambitious, we are hopeful that the new government is able to deliver on their promises.

Of course, a commitment to funding streams and less undercutting is something the industry has looked forward to for several years, and we are as equally hopeful as Rachel that The Building Safety Act sees a rise in quality construction.

As Rachel mentions, developments such as AI should not be overlooked, and should continue to be assessed in their ability to help us navigate potential turmoil in political, social, and economic landscapes, in turn helping us continue to perform high quality construction. We very much look forward to watching this area develop and seeing how we can implement it ourselves.

Mark Robinson, the Chief Executive of Scape, mentions that the government’s promise for a revitalisation of public services can help us expect an increase in public sector infrastructure.

The modernisation and expansion of the UK’s ports, energy, and other vital utility sectors will require substantial investment, which, alongside Mark, we are optimistic about, given the government’s recent £100m investment in 12 multi-skills training hubs across the country. Designed to train apprentices and develop a new generation of highly skilled workers, we are hopeful that urgently needed building can be successfully carried out and maintained.

Shifting the status quo on empty promises?

Further to this, Jackie Sadek, former government advisor on urban regeneration, states that the new government has already ‘changed the political weather’ on the house building front. We are in agreement that giving planning officers more approval powers and bringing back proper planning can see a surge in speedy yet high-quality project completion, however, share her frustration in the tension between ambition and action.

Simon Rawlinson, partner at Arcadis, makes an interesting point when he says that a sudden surge in infrastructure activity, particularly in water and power networks, may put a strain on the industry’s capacity in all areas. Efficient resource allocation across the supply chain will be vital here, as well as strategic alignment between all parties to ensure a smooth, successful operation. Ensuring the employment of highly skilled Quantity Surveyors and Project Managers can also help prevent bottlenecks and delays.

This strain on capacity could also be seen in the government’s target to build 1.5 million new homes in the next five years. Martyn Evans, creative director of U&I, makes an interesting point about recent revisions to the NPPF. Hopefully more collaboration between local planning authorities and funding for planning officers will see the progression and completion of this building work. These factors will be integral in ensuring timely application decisions, which in turn will encourage the government’s target to be met accordingly.

Actively positive, regenerative impacts are key

As a B Corp company, we are in strong agreement with the director of industry transformation at UKGBC, Yetunde Abdul’s, thoughts on maintaining the momentum on climate change mitigation. The UKGBC’s focus on actionable climate resilience policies, as we look forward to being outlined in their upcoming roadmap, will provide a clear framework for the industry to address pressing climate-related challenges.

Informing policy and encouraging the reduction of greenwashing around net zero claims will hopefully make genuine sustainable ventures more widespread. We are particularly interested in Yetunde’s thoughts on moving further than just minimising negative environmental impacts to projects with an actively positive, regenerative impact.

At b&m, both our B Corp status and People First approach mean we’re well-aligned with this sentiment, and look forward to an increase in projects across the nation that actively benefit communities and ecosystems alike.

Festus Moffat of John Robertson Architects also notes the importance of demanding urgent action surrounding the climate crisis. We agree with his statement that modern methods of construction are often seen as not being in alignment with sustainable practices and that there simply is not enough data to prove otherwise.

Collaboration with architects and the supply chain can help us to collect this revealing data, but this will also require full transparency from all parties, including details on lessons learned from previous MMC projects.

Balancing sustainability with practicality

Gauri Lamb, CEO of FHP Group, finishes Building Magazine’s article with her thoughts on what is already beginning to take shape in 2025. We found her sentiment on the resurgence of retail parks and the expansion of industrial units offering opportunities to integrate energy efficiency insightful, with this both being pivotal to economic growth and offering a balance between sustainability and practicality.

Refurbishment projects are hugely important for both prioritising sustainable construction and creating innovative and exciting spaces for communities across the country. From the conversion of offices to housing to prison refurbishment schemes, the growing role of the public sector in sustainability is key to seeing the building industry as a whole prove more eco-friendly than ever before.

In all, we found Building Magazine’s piece and the thoughts of these industry experts incredibly insightful, and we look forward to navigating the challenges and celebrating the successes of the building industry in 2025 with them.

The original Building Magazine article can be found here.