How construction project starts have grown significantly in Yorkshire

Project-starts grew by 110 per cent in the region reported the August edition of the Construction Index, compiled by insight and intelligence firm Glenigan. Project-starts in London climbed by 50 per cent against the previous year but were down 9 per cent on the first quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Rhys Gadsby, economic analyst at Glenigan, said: “The positive figures we’ve seen in Yorkshire, London and East Anglia serves as a strong indicator that the construction sector recovery is continuing.

“While the value of project-starts remains substantially higher than the lockdown-affected previous year, the value has continued to decline in recent months.

“Material supply problems may have contributed to the fall; however, a decline was expected following a surge in activity, due to pent-up demand, during the first quarter.

“More positively, the speed of decline slowed during July. Main contract awards and detailed planning approval were high compared with previous years, so it is only a matter of time before this has a positive impact on project-starts.

“Furthermore, the successful vaccination roll-out, as well as the ending of restrictions on daily life, should give investors – particularly in non-residential sectors such as hotel and leisure – the confidence to progress projects to site.”

Retail was the stand-out sector during the period, with project-starts having increased 150 per cent against the previous year up 34 per cent compared with the same period in 2019. Retail-starts also increased 83 per cent compared with the preceding three-month period.

An area in need of improvement is underlying civil engineering project-starts which increased just 1 per cent on 2020 but fell 41 per cent on the preceding three months.

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James Mitchinson