As 2025 draws to an end and thoughts turn to the year ahead, in this series of articles we’ve sourced the viewpoint of various leading industry figures. This time we’ve sought the input of individuals from the likes of Hub South West Scotland, Pulse Consult, CIS, Eurocell, and SLR Consulting to gather their opinions on how the last 12 months have been for construction and to get their predictions for 2026.
Rebecca Beveridge, Partnerships & Marketing Manager, Hub South West Scotland:
“2025 has been a year of resilience and recalibration for Scotland’s construction sector. Despite ongoing pressures around inflation, procurement complexity, and industry-wide skills shortages, the sector has continued to deliver high-quality projects that make a tangible difference to communities. Across hub regions, including our own at Hub South West, we have seen strong progress in education, community, health, and net-zero infrastructure – demonstrating how vital public sector investment remains in supporting Scotland’s long-term ambitions.
“What has defined 2025 most is a renewed commitment to collaboration and social value. Contractors, consultants, local authorities, colleges, and SMEs have worked more closely than ever, ensuring that projects do not only meet technical requirements but also generate local employment, training opportunities, and meaningful community benefits. Sustainability has also matured significantly, with improved carbon reporting, greener materials, and early-stage design choices helping us align more closely with Scotland’s national net-zero targets.
“Looking ahead to 2026, my hopes centre on stability, clarity, and shared ambition. Stability in funding and future pipeline visibility to give our supply chain the confidence to invest. Clarity around future policy, sustainability standards, and procurement reform, ensuring organisations of all sizes – particularly local SMEs – can thrive. And shared ambition, where industry, government, and education continue to strengthen skills, support innovation, and deliver buildings and places that enhance life for people across Scotland.”
Ian Carey, Managing Director at Pulse Consult:
“2025 has continued to be a challenging and uncertain year for the construction and real estate development market. Access to finance remains constrained, public sector investment is dipping and there is still a worrying lack of certainty around grant funding for critical sectors such as housing. This combination has made viability difficult to stack up on many schemes, suppressing confidence and slowing delivery.
“The biggest and most persistent barrier however remains bureaucracy. From extensive planning requirements and prolonged planning delays through to regulatory bottlenecks introduced under the Building Safety Act, the time it now takes to progress from a viable feasibility study to handing the keys over to an end user has stretched to unsustainable levels. While the intent behind regulation is understood, the cumulative burden is now having a real impact on the industry’s ability to respond to demand at pace.
“There also remains a sense of confusion around political willpower. There is no shortage of positive rhetoric about growth and housing delivery but too often this has not translated into decisive coordinated action. As a result, we are seeing some major global players reassessing their presence in the UK market altogether with recent high-profile withdrawals from sectors such as pharmaceuticals sending a worrying signal to investors.
“Looking ahead to 2026, the outlook risks being more of the same unless there is a genuine holistic review of the regulatory framework governing development. While we hope to see some improvement in regulatory timeframes under the Building Safety Act, only a fundamental overhaul of end-to-end process will truly unlock delivery.
“Despite this backdrop Pulse Consult is bucking the trend. We continue to grow, remain proudly cross-sector focused and are supported by a high-performing talented team working closely with clients to deliver those schemes that remain viable.”
Dave Thompson, VP for UK and Ireland, CIS, powered by Hubexo:
“2025 has been a year of volatility and insight across the UK and Ireland construction sectors. Northern Ireland experienced a dramatic 70% drop in civil project starts, while the Republic of Ireland saw record-level capital commitments, including €2.9bn for transport and €1bn for water projects. Our analysis highlighted critical gaps between planning approvals and actual delivery. Residential starts fell 49% year-on-year in ROI despite record planning approvals and infrastructure investment lagged, particularly in roads, bridges and sewerage.
“Our data also shows how golf tourism in NI is construction in the hospitality sector, with over £66m in projects underway, including new hotels, lodges and high-end accommodation on the North Coast. These projects demonstrate the positive impact of sector-specific investment but also highlight the need for coordinated infrastructure delivery to support growth.
“At CIS, we’ve focused on providing real-time, verified intelligence to help clients navigate these challenges, from housing and infrastructure planning to civil and utilities projects. Q3 2025 data for NI shows clear regional disparities, emphasising that understanding pipeline volatility is critical to project and resource planning.
“Heading into 2026, I see real potential for growth and innovation. Northern Ireland and ROI are poised for a rebound, with forecasted increases in civil project starts and continued investment in housing and infrastructure. Our mission remains clear; to equip clients with actionable insights so they can respond proactively to market fluctuations, turn planning approvals into completed projects and maximise the impact of investment on communities and the economy.”
Martin Benn, Head of New Build at Eurocell:
“The past year has been one of continued pressure. We entered 2025 with cautious optimism, expecting a lift in activity during the second half of the year. But that bounce just hasn’t materialised. Instead, developers have found themselves navigating a perfect storm of affordability challenges, inflationary pressures, labour shortages and ongoing planning delays.
“The regulatory landscape has added another layer of complexity. The 2021 update to Approved Document L (ADL) introduced a 35% carbon reduction requirement, and the next step will be to push that to 75%. With its publication now delayed, housebuilders are planning in the dark. Parts L, F, O, B and M also continue to clash, creating uncertainty that ultimately slows delivery and increases build costs.
“Despite the headwinds, 2025 has reaffirmed the industry’s resilience. For Eurocell, it has strengthened our role as a technical partner, working closely with developers to shape compliant, commercially viable specifications and preparing for the rapid re-engineering work that ADL 2025 is expected to trigger.
“Looking ahead to 2026, we hope to see clarity and consistency return. Clear regulation, stable policy and a supportive housing strategy would unlock stalled activity across the country. Sustainability, performance and accountability will continue to be high on the agenda, and with the right guidance and innovation, the sector is well placed to respond.”
Elle Cass, head of strategic built environment growth at SLR Consulting and incoming 2026 chair of the Board of Trustees for the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and Pol MacDonald, director of the place team SLR Consulting:
“Looking back on 2025, government policy has been characterised by anticipation rather than delivery, and with that has come understandable frustration across the industry. While messages around growth and housing have been encouraging, delays to the next revision of the NPPF have created uncertainty at a time when clarity is critical. That said, we have seen a modest but noticeable uplift in activity from both UK and overseas clients, suggesting cautious confidence remains.
“There are, however, genuine positives. The growing commitment to strategic planning through devolution and combined authorities is widely welcomed. This enables bigger, cross-boundary thinking around issues such as the green belt, infrastructure and placemaking, while freeing local authorities to focus on delivery and detail. Industry-wide support for this shift is a major step forward.
“The government’s firm commitment to reviewing the grey belt is also encouraging, but clearer guidance is needed in 2026. At present, approaches remain piecemeal. A more strategic, landscape-scale view is essential if grey belt policy is to unlock sustainable growth rather than fuel localised opposition. This must align with wider climate, biodiversity and natural capital strategies.
“Looking ahead, housing delivery will hinge on tackling structural barriers. The labour market remains a critical constraint, particularly the lack of funded routes such as Level 7 planning apprenticeships. Education reform, training investment and alternative mortgage and funding models must move up the agenda if the housing market is to truly recover.
“Finally, any further expansion of permitted development rights would be deeply concerning. Poorly controlled change risks eroding long-term value in favour of short-term delivery. For 2026, the priority must be coherence, certainty and strategy at scale.”