Not so good news (Planning problems, Lower Thames Crossing,
Water projects, Delayed projects), Other Projects (Lost sleep,
Airport expansions, More airport development, Zombie projects),
Good news (SMR planning, Liverpool Mega Project,
Funding for culture, Gene therapy), De-extinction
and Impact of AI
REPORT
By Dr. Miles Shepherd
Executive Advisor & International Correspondent
Salisbury, England, UK
INTRODUCTION
The best news this month is the lengthening of days – more daylight, flowers coming into bloom and animals reacting with energy and enthusiasm. Officially, it is now Spring! In my garden the snowdrops are in full bloom and the daffodils well on the way. Let’s hope the project world is going the same way.
As you will see, there is a range of project news, some good, some not so good, and some that is hard to categorise. I’ll start with the Not-So-Good so we can move from there to the mixed and end on the good.
NOT SO GOOD NEWS
Planning Problems. Most of this set is not about failed projects or errors by project teams. It is more about problems encountered in getting started. Many readers will know that the current administration wants to energize the economy in order to create jobs, and generally make life better for the population. Part of the process being adopted is to reduce the many issues with gaining planning permission. Speeding up the process, particularly in the house building sector is critical and results are mixed, according to the boss of one of our major construction firms. Rob Perrins, boss of Berkleys Group cited a 3 year delay on a brown field site project in Hampstead, where planners were concerned about the impact of the project on stag beetles. These are a protected species but the colony was 6 miles away!
Stag beetle (Image: Planetnatural.com)
Another example cited in the press is the Lower Thames Crossing. First mooted in 1984, in a Government White Paper, this major infrastructure project has cost £300 million in planning applications. The combined efforts of 22 Transport Secretaries across several Administrations has still come to nothing. Whatever the merits of a new route to bypass London that would speed up freight to the Channel Ports, it has also had an impact on several aspects of planning, the most notable is the reinforcement of risk averse approaches to planning.
The propensity of protesters to take matters to the Courts results in delays that can cost tens of millions. The first consultation on routes brought forth 5776 responses, and the second drew 47034 responses and a final route emerged in 2017. A further 3 consultations (Statutory, supplementary and design refinement) followed. The sad tale looks like running and running as the planning application was not considered sufficiently detailed and was withdrawn. There are further consultations to come.
More…
To read entire report, click here
How to cite this report: Shepherd, M. (2025). UK Project Management Roundup, report, PM World Journal, Vol. XIV, Issue I, January. Available online at http://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/pmwj150-Mar2025-Shepherd-UK-project-management-round-up-report.pdf
About the Author
Dr. Miles Shepherd
Salisbury, UK
Dr. Miles Shepherd is an executive editorial advisor and international correspondent for PM World Journal in the United Kingdom. He is also managing director for MS Projects Ltd, a consulting company supporting various UK and overseas Government agencies, nuclear industry organisations and other businesses. Miles has over 30 years’ experience on a variety of projects in UK, Eastern Europe and Russia. His PM experience includes defence, major IT projects, decommissioning of nuclear reactors, nuclear security, rail and business projects for the UK Government and EU. His consulting work has taken him to Japan, Taiwan, USA and Russia. Past Chair and Fellow of the Association for Project Management (APM), Miles is also past president and chair and a Fellow of the International Project Management Association (IPMA). He was, for seven years, a Director for PMI’s Global Accreditation Centre and is immediate past Chair of the ISO committee developing new international standards for Project Management and for Program/Portfolio Management. He is currently Chairman of the British Standards Institute project management committee. He was involved in setting up APM’s team developing guidelines for project management oversight and governance. Miles is based in Salisbury, England and can be contacted at miles.shepherd@msp-ltd.co.uk.
To view other works by Miles Shepherd, visit his author showcase in the PM World Library at http://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/miles-shepherd/.
