Good News, Not So Good News, New Projects, Other Project News,
Jelly Fish Threat, Natural Recolonisation, Montagu’s
Harrier and Beavers to the Rescue
REPORT
By Dr. Miles Shepherd
Executive Advisor & International Correspondent
Salisbury, England, UK
INTRODUCTION
This has been a truly remarkable summer. On the world stage we have witnessed a major programme that comprised a series of national projects (FIFA World Cup) and we have also witnessed two eclipses – one solar and the other lunar. A new soft skill has emerged that may have significance for Project people (more of this later) and the weather patterns in many parts of the world have been radically different with droughts and wildfires as well as further catastrophic melting of Himalayan glaciers that has resulted in a devastating flooding in Nepal that has claimed hundreds of lives, displaced thousands of people and caused indescribable devastation to property.
Nearer to home, major projects are getting on with their work, we learn of some new projects and there is success for a project we reported on earlier in the year. A number of major construction projects have also hit major milestones.
GOOD NEWS
High Speed 2 (HS 2)
Good news and HS 2 are not often linked but HS 2 engineers have completed the first major phase of work to launch the Duddeston Junction Viaduct over the Birmingham to Derby railway lines. This milestone is the beginning of a project to cross six railway tracks – three freight lines and three passenger lines. Planned completion is some time next summer.
Duddeston Junction is the first of five interconnecting viaducts, known as the Curzon Approaches, which weave through Birmingham’s industrial districts on the approach to Curzon Street Station. The structure follows a varying horizontal curve and has a three percent gradient, rising from the ground to sit 12 metres above the existing tracks. This makes construction, logistics and alignment significantly more challenging.
In August, the engineering team behind the build and launch operation reached their first major milestone, as they successfully launched the first 170 metres of the 700-metre-long structure over two key freight lines that transport goods into the city.
Dover Western Docks Revival Phase 3b
The Port of Dover is Britain’s busiest port, with the Western Docks containing the cruise terminal, EU Entry Exit facilities and the newly renovated cargo and marina facilities. The DWDR project has created land for future development, supporting the Port of Dover in delivering its 2050 masterplan.
This part of the overall project created 10Ha of new port land, requiring nearly 900,000m³ of infill material to raise the dock bed to approximately 0.5m below the level of the existing quay walls. The project commenced in 2024 and involved the reclamation of land within the Wick Channel, Tidal Basin marinas and Granville Dock.
More…
To read entire report, click here
How to cite this report: Shepherd, M. (2026). UK Project Management Roundup, report, PM World Journal, Vol. XV, Issue IX, September. Available online at https://pmworldjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/pmwj168-Sep2026-Shepherd-UK-project-management-roundup.pdf
About the Author
Dr. Miles Shepherd
Salisbury, UK
Dr. Miles Shepherd is an executive editorial advisor and international correspondent for the PM World Journal in the United Kingdom. He retired from a 30 year career in the British Army in 1994. 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 35 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 past Chair of the ISO committee developing new international standards for Project Management and for Program/Portfolio Management. He served on British Standards Institute project management committee (2002 – 2026) including 5 years as Chair. 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/.
