Andy Lingham, Managing Director for Water at Kier Group, reflects on the first year of AMP8 and what it means for delivery across the UK water sector.
As the first year of AMP8 comes to a close, it provides a useful moment for the water sector to reflect on what we have learned so far.
For the wider infrastructure sector, including investors following long-term UK infrastructure delivery, AMP8 also provides an early indication of how the industry is adapting to one of the largest periods of investment in UK water infrastructure in recent decades.
This investment cycle represents one of the most ambitious programmes the industry has undertaken, with a clear focus on improving environmental performance, strengthening resilience and delivering better outcomes for customers.
Over the past twelve months, water companies, delivery partners and supply chains have been mobilising programmes, developing designs and building the partnerships that will be needed to deliver this work at scale between now and 2030.
The scale of investment, combined with the increasing complexity of environmental and operational challenges facing the sector, is also accelerating changes in how infrastructure programmes are planned and delivered across the industry.
While much of the first year has been about preparation, it has already highlighted some important shifts in how the sector is approaching delivery.
Moving from projects to programmes
One of the most noticeable changes in the early stages of AMP8 has been the continued move towards programme thinking.
Increasingly, water companies are structuring delivery around programmes of work, often organised by geography or outcome areas. This allows delivery partners and supply chains to look at challenges across catchments or networks rather than focusing on individual projects in isolation.
That shift creates space for a broader conversation about solutions. Instead of concentrating heavily on competing and tendering for individual schemes, teams are able to spend more time working together to understand the underlying challenge and identify the most effective way to address it.
Where customers are tackling issues such as phosphorus or nitrate removal, for example, looking across a wider programme allows teams to consider a broader range of interventions and determine where investment will deliver the greatest environmental benefit.
We are seeing this approach develop in practice through programmes such as the Thames Water WAAP, where a broader, programme-led view enables more informed decisions about where investment delivers the greatest value.
Taking that wider view helps ensure investment is targeted where it can make the biggest difference for customers, communities and the environment.
Integrated teams delivering better outcomes
Another lesson emerging from the first year of AMP8 is the importance of integrated teams.
Where water companies, delivery partners and supply chains are able to work together from the earliest stages of a programme, it becomes much easier to explore options and shape the right solution.
Integrated project teams typically start with a shared understanding of the problem they are trying to solve. That shared starting point helps bring together different perspectives and experience from across the client, contractor and supply chain.
In more traditional delivery models, contractors may become involved once the scope of a scheme has largely been defined. At that stage there can be fewer opportunities to influence the design or approach in a meaningful way.
Earlier collaboration allows those conversations to happen much sooner, which can ultimately lead to more efficient solutions and better outcomes.
This is evident in programmes such as Severn Trent’s CSO work, where integrated teams are helping to accelerate decision making and deliver solutions more efficiently across complex programmes.
The role of design in shaping better solutions
As programmes become larger and more complex, the role of design becomes increasingly important.
Good design sits at the centre of many of the efficiencies the sector is seeking to achieve. Early design involvement allows teams to explore different options, challenge assumptions and identify opportunities to deliver schemes in more efficient or effective ways.
This might involve looking at standardisation, modern methods of construction or alternative ways of addressing engineering challenges.
It also helps ensure that potential efficiencies are considered before schemes move too far into delivery.
This ‘left shift’ into earlier design involvement is becoming more common across the sector. For example, on programmes with Southern Water, earlier engagement in design has helped shape solutions more effectively before they reach construction.
At Kier Group, our design capability supports these early-stage conversations with customers and partners, helping programmes move from an initial problem statement through to practical solutions that can be delivered safely and efficiently.
Delivering the leanest possible solution
With the scale of investment required during AMP8, there is a strong focus across the sector on delivering outcomes as efficiently as possible.
This includes exploring modern methods of construction and opportunities to move elements of work off site where it makes sense to do so. Approaches such as modular components or precast construction can bring benefits in the right circumstances.
At the same time, these decisions need to be considered carefully. Cost pressures remain a reality across the sector, and not every solution will be appropriate in every situation.
What is encouraging is the increasing emphasis from both water companies and delivery partners on identifying the leanest possible way to achieve the required outcome.
In some cases that may involve new construction techniques. In others it may mean looking again at the challenge to ensure investment is directed where it will have the greatest impact
The growing role of digital delivery
Technology also continues to play an increasingly important role in how the sector delivers infrastructure.
Digital tools are now embedded across many aspects of project delivery, from design and modelling through to construction planning and asset management.
As these technologies continue to evolve, they offer further opportunities to improve how complex programmes are planned and delivered.
Areas such as artificial intelligence are beginning to support activity across a range of disciplines, including design optimisation and safety management.
In more reactive environments, tools such as FYLD are already helping teams make better decisions in real time, supporting safer and more efficient delivery on site.
The challenge for the sector is to continue embracing these tools where they add real value and help teams deliver better outcomes.
Investing in the workforce for AMP8
Delivering programmes at the scale required during AMP8 will also depend on the continued strength of the sector’s workforce.
Across the industry there is a growing focus on attracting new people into water infrastructure and developing the next generation of engineers, project managers and construction professionals.
For delivery partners such as Kier Group, this means continuing to invest in skills, apprenticeships and career development so the sector has the capability required to deliver these programmes over the coming years.
Maintaining momentum
While the first year of AMP8 has inevitably involved mobilisation, planning and early design work, the coming years will require sustained momentum across the sector.
There will always be external factors that influence how programmes progress, including political developments, regulatory change and wider economic conditions.
The challenge for everyone involved in AMP8 will be maintaining progress despite those variables.
If the sector continues to strengthen collaboration between water companies, delivery partners and supply chains, and maintains a clear focus on outcomes, there is every reason to be confident about what can be achieved.
The opportunity now is to build on the lessons from the first year of AMP8 and translate that momentum into delivery across the remainder of the programme.
Looking ahead to AMP9
Alongside delivering AMP8, there is also a need for the industry to begin thinking about the transition into AMP9.
Maintaining continuity between investment periods will be important to avoid the cyclical slowdowns that have historically affected delivery. The earlier programmes, design and supply chain engagement can be aligned to future investment cycles, the better positioned the sector will be to sustain momentum.
Taking the lessons from AMP8 into that next phase will be key to improving how the industry plans, mobilises and delivers infrastructure over the longer term.
Done well, this approach will help ensure that investment across successive AMPs delivers consistent, long-term improvements to the resilience, environmental performance and reliability of the UK’s water infrastructure.
Learn more about how Kier is delivering projects and outcomes in this sector: