JANUARY News brief...
HCA PUBLISHES COMMUNITIES
TOOLKIT The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has published a toolkit designed to help partners put communities in charge of development in their area – along with guidance on how community-led groups can apply for funding to take on development themselves. As part of the government’s recent Housing Strategy, the HCA has published the bidding guidance and criteria to show how community-led groups can apply for funding to take forward their own building projects.
CONSTRUCTION FIRMS REPORT
INCOME FALL A tough 12 months for the UK’s construction sector have kept confidence at low levels, with around one in ten employers fearing that their business won’t survive the recession, new research reveals. In the Employer Attitudes andMotivations report by Sector Skills Council and CITB- ConstructionSkills, results show that nearly half (47 per cent) of all businesses suffered a decrease in turnover in the last year – with income falling by an average of 29 per cent.
NEWDIRECTOR
FORMILLER Karen Vigar has joined Miller Construction as strategy and development Director. Karen will be responsible for working with existing clients in the public sector and will further strengthen the presence of the business in its developing markets including community regeneration, science & technology, defence, energy and rail.
Public cuts outweigh private recovery
Construction output figures fromthe Office for National Statistics for October showthat construction output has fallen both compared to the previous month and to a year earlier, as
the long predicted public sector spending cuts begin to bite. Commenting on the data,
Noble Francis fromthe Construction Products Association said: “This construction output data highlights that the construction industry is starting to feel the severe effects of sharp cuts in public sector spending.Overall, construction output fell 2.5 per cent inOctober compared to the previousmonth and 2.7 per
cent compared to a year earlier. Within this, public housing output fell 6 per cent inOctober compared to September and 13 per cent compared toOctober 2010,whilst public non- housing, [which covers education and health], fell 9 per cent inOctober compared to September and 20 per cent compared to last year. Output in the private
construction sectorswasmixed but even sowas still not
Plans for stimulation The autumn Budget Statement has been
announcedwith plans to get Britain building Chancellor George Osborne delivered his Autumn Statement on Tuesday 29 November 2011, with plans made for infrastructure projects, the housing market and energy- intensive industries.
a further £5bn extra capital spending in the next parliament and the remaining £20bn is to be invested from pension funds over the course of a decade. The investment will fund
construction to be key to the UK's economic growth, and as a result, the government is set to inject £30bn into the sector. The Chancellor divided this figure into three installments: £5bn has been committed for the next three years on top of the money to come from reductions in other spending, there will be
L
ooking at infrastructure, Chancellor Osborne said he believes this area of
major infrastructure schemes including the £400m Get Britain Building fund, which will ensure funding for projects that have been shelved due to financing issues. Another scheme that is to benefit from the investment is the updated National Infrastructure Plan, a scheme that is committed to improving the UK's transport networks. The Chancellor identified over 500 infrastructure projects - including 35 road and rail - that will go ahead under the Plan.
Projects that have been earmarked include an extension to the London Underground's Northern Line and a new Thames crossing. Turning to housing,Mr.
Osborne reasserted the government's ongoing commitment to the development and strengthening of the UK's troubled market. He said that the previously announced Housing Strategy outlined the government’s commitment to supporting locally-led large scale development, furthering efforts on public sector land release, providing development finance for stalled sites and furthering support for custom-build/self- build housing.
4 | British Builder & Developer |
BritishBuilder.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36