In this episode we are talking about the once-in-a-generation reckoning currently facing the British water industry.

Following the publication of the final report from Sir Jon Cunliffe’s Independent Water Commission last summer - and most recently the landmark January 2026 White Paper, "A New Vision for Water," the regulatory landscape across the sector is being completely redrawn.

To discuss these changes and the implications for the supply chain, I am joined today by Chris Taylor-Dawson, Senior Director for Major Water Infrastructure at regulator Ofwat, someone who is, without question, at the heart of this transition.

And there is certainly a huge amount for Chris to get across. To start with Ofwat itself will be reborn via a merger with the Drinking Water Inspectorate, and some functions of the Environment Agency and Natural England, to create a new single integrated regulator.

And there is a huge amount of work to do on the ground following the latest AMP8 price review. Water companies are committed over the next five years to at least 30 major infrastructure projects, including perhaps nine new reservoirs, as part of a complex £50 billion pound major projects pipeline.

And with Ofwat’s recent Economic Impact of Water Supply Infrastructure report highlighting that continued water scarcity could significantly stifle economic growth, the urgency is certainly growing.

Fortunately, Chris is a calm head when it comes to meeting this kind of challenge and brings a wealth of experience from his previous career delivering major projects for National Highways.

I last spoke to him in November at the Transforming Infrastructure Performance Summit in London and it’s fair to say the challenges have become clearer since then.

Resources

• Ofwat website
• Sir John Cunliffe Independent Commission final report
• January 2026 White Paper "A New Vision for Water"
• Ofwat's Economic Impact of Water Supply Infrastructure report
• PR24 price review
• Ofwat Major Water Infrastructure Programme (MWIP)
• RAPID (Regulators' Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development) programme
• Transforming Infrastructure Performance Summit London 2025

In this episode we. explore how infrastructure, arguably one of the most traditional and risk-averse industries, can truly embrace and embed digital technology and artificial intelligence as it trains and inspires the next generation into the sector.

No question that construction and infrastructure are the backbone of the UK economy. Yet we continue to face a critical shortage of skills - as the pipeline of work grows we see older, experienced professionals retire without being effectively replaced by the next generation.

Add to this the impact of technology which is radically transforming – or should be – the way that we design, build and maintain assets, and we have a cocktail of opportunity and challenge.

To help us navigate this situation, I’m joined by Kirsty Ingleson, Head of Digital Innovation and Artificial Intelligence at Leeds College of Building. Kirsty will be expanding on our discussion today at a series of workshops to be help next month at the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREIIF).

In these workshops, Kirsty promises to challenge the idea that innovation is just about 'new gadgets’. and instead, argue that the real revolution is in how we think, how we learn, and how we build confidence in an age of uncertainty.

From the power of 'reverse mentoring' - where a Gen Z apprentice might just be the one teaching the Site Manager - to the ethical tightrope of AI-driven decision-making, it’s a complex and challenging future.

So let’s get stuck in to some of critical questions around how we train the next generation of surveyors, engineers, and site managers for a digital and AI enhance workplace.

Resources

• Leeds College of Building
• Kirsty Ingleson
• UKREiiF show
• UK Construction Skills Mission Board
• Construction Leadership Council

This is a special episode recorded live in front of delegates at the recent Transforming Infrastructure Performance Summit in New York – the latest in this series of global events supported by software giant Bentley Systems and the UK Government.

My guest is Andy Byford, Special Advisor at Amtrak, former London Transport Commissioner, and the man in charge of the massive multi-billion dollar transformation of New York’s vast Penn Station, the busiest rail hub in the Western Hemisphere.

The Station sits on Seventh Avenue in the heart of Manhattan alongside the Maddison Square Garden sports and concert venue. It serves hundreds of thousands of passengers each day, via numerous the MTA subway lines and the Long lsland Railroad. Yet for decades it has struggled under the weight of aging assets, fragmented governance, and chronic underinvestment.

The result has been a station that works hard, but not well enough for the city, the region, or the nation it serves.

But that is now beginning to change. Under the expert eye of Andy - AKA the "Train Daddy" - the Penn Station Transformation intends to redefine what a modern, customer-focused, high-capacity rail hub can look like in the heart of one of the world’s densest urban environments.

And after a career running London’s Transport network, and before that, transportation in Sydney, Toronto and New York, he is the man that knows what passengers – and crucially what politicians want from this kind of station transformation.

I kicked off by getting to grips with this vast and highly political project - and asking what world class actually looks like?

Resources

• Penn Station tranformation
• Amtrak New Era of Rail website
• MTA project website
• TIP New York Summit 2026
• American Society of Civil Engineers website