04 February 2026

This episode of Positive Impact dives into the challenges of delivering major infrastructure projects. From railways to nuclear power plants, and energy upgrades to new reservoirs, infrastructure is designed to boost economic growth and deliver benefits to the lives of communities.

Host Lucy Siegle is joined by Matt Steele, Chief Operating Officer at National Gas, and Kerry Bangle, Major Projects Director at WSP to discuss how complexity, funding pressures and growing community expectation have all created a complex infrastructure delivery landscape.

They explore the need for certainty in planning and execution, the growing interconnectedness of projects and the importance of authentic engagement with communities, while stressing the value of upfront scoping to reduce risk and cost.

Both our guests call for better storytelling to attract talent into the industry and build trust in our projects and those delivering them. The conversation also touches on skills development and creating positive legacies through local employment and education.

This episode was recorded in November 2025.

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Key takeaways from the podcast episode

  1. Infrastructure has never been more complex: Delivering major infrastructure in the UK has never been more complex, with increased competition for funding, complexity in delivery and more invested communities.

  2. Increasing certainty: While difficult, creating greater certainty in the infrastructure pipeline for funders is crucial, doing more work upfront to simplify complexity, focusing more on the projects that will be delivered and resisting the urge to accelerate a project.

  3. Improving storytelling about infrastructure: We need to be better storytellers about our infrastructure, creating authentic narratives to build trust in projects and the people and organisations delivering them.

  4. There is a role for everyone on our projects: There is a role for everyone on our major projects and we don’t have enough people. We need to attract a broad range of skills and voices as well as innovate in the way that we attract talent.

  5. Leadership and collaboration: The importance of leadership and collaboration and “best for project” behaviours across organisations delivering projects, ensuring everyone connects to project missions.
Projects are delivered by people, for people, and we need to be better at telling the stories behind them.

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Meet the speakers

2

Kerry Bangle, Major Projects Director, WSP

Kerry Bangle is Major Projects Director, WSP and leads their complex project advisory business. She has over 25 years of experience in transport planning and infrastructure delivery across the United Kingdom and Australia. She has led high-profile projects including High Speed Two, Crossrail, airport expansions, and London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone. Kerry’s current projects include leading the Roads and Transports design work for the Sizewell C nuclear power plant. A passionate advocate for inclusive leadership and talent development, she mentors early-career professionals and champions diversity in engineering. Kerry is also a STEM ambassador and Chair of the CIHT South East.

3

Matt Steele, Chief Operating Officer, National Gas

Matt Steele joined National Gas as Chief Operating Officer in April 2024. Previously, Matt held Managing Director positions at Balfour Beatty, in divisions including Gas and Water, Rail and Utilities and most recently Energy Transition and Security, responsible for delivering large and complex infrastructure programmes across the UK. Prior to that, Matt worked for Network Rail where he was Commercial and Development Director for the infrastructure business and Major Programme Director for Crossrail. A Fellow of the IMechE and a Chartered Mechanical Engineer, Matt has a thorough knowledge of the UK infrastructure market, with more than 24 years’ experience providing strategic leadership to large multi-discipline and cross-industry teams.

The WSP’s Positive Impact podcast is for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for independent, tailored professional advice. The podcast does not constitute, nor should it be construed as, a financial inducement, incentive, or recommendation to act in any way. No financial or other benefit is offered or implied in connection with its content. No reliance may be placed on the content of this podcast and listeners will need to seek independent professional advice tailored to their specific needs. The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, nor WSP and its affiliates.

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