Glenigan construction index shows decline in new projects
The total value of new construction projects in the UK fell by 19.7% in the year to September, which is expected to depress construction activity significantly over the next 12 to 18 months — according to the first Glenigan report launched at the end of October. The index covers housing and commercial projects. It is based on Glenigan’s database of construction projects and tracks the monthly flow of all construction projects valued at up to £100 million starting on site each month. Allan Wilen, economics director with Glenigan, says, ‘Although London has profited from the flow of new projects in preparation for the Olympics, and Northern Ireland has benefited from uplift from the education sector, the north east and south west of the country have fared particularly badly. Residential construction has borne the initial brunt of the credit crunch, despite a lift from several large social-housing projects in London. New builds are down 26.3% on a year ago due to a stalled mortgage market and declining house prices. Non-residential projects are down 19.1% year on year as developers shelve plans for new office, retail and commercial projects. — although this has been offset by an increase in public-sector projects, particularly in health and community and amenity projects. Private non-residential construction is expected to improve moderately during the second half of 2009, with a number of hotel and leisure projects in the pipeline. The civil-engineering sector is 3.1% down on last year.
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