Weekly News Bulletin – 27th October 2017

This week we shared the positive news from The Independent that, despite a weak economy for the first half of this year, housebuilding is to hit its highest in a decade as construction firms start 38,000 new homes in three months.

The Insider Media Limited reported on a £50m investment plan to grow Midlands businesses over the year. Here at Metsec, we believe the Midlands area has a wealth of industry and are excited to see how this investment will be used.

Following the Grenfell Tower fire earlier this year, we are seeing the industry focus on safety, which is reflected earlier this week in the BBC report highlighting that fire chiefs are calling for sprinklers in all UK schools. We are happy to see steps are being taken to reduce the number of fires in schools across England. We also shared news from CITYA.M. that the UK’s economic growth has increased by 0.4% GDP due to the manufacturing sector returning to expansion. We will report further as we know more about whether this economic growth is enough to overcome the sluggish start to 2017. Despite this increase in economic growth, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers has warned that UK manufacturers need to invest substantially in automation to remain competitive. This is based on investment decreasing from 7.5% turnover to 6.5% over the last two years.

The Metro has reported on the exciting news of a new London landmark – the £800 million Spire London, designed by HoK architects. With work started in November, click below to read all about this exciting structure.

The Construction Enquirer revealed The University of Chester’s commitment to building a £40m medical school at its main Parkgate Road Campus. With plans for virtual reality tables and six laboratories, we are excited the see the progression of this project, planned to be constructed in 2021. We’ll keep you updated as we know more.

Finally, we shared news that although the construction sector is growing at a healthy rate, small- to medium-sized construction companies were concerned about their future. This fear appears to be based of the increase of material prices and a skills shortage due to Brexit. We’d love to know your thoughts on whether you too foresee a skills shortage.

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UK housebuilding hits highest in a decade as construction firms start 38,000 new homes in three months

British construction companies applied to build the greatest number of new homes in a decade during the three months to the end of September, taking account of the time of year, industry data showed on Thursday.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-housebuilding-construction-new-homes-three-months-highest-a8020526.html

£50M INVESTMENT PLAN REVEALED

A plan to invest £50m into growing Midlands businesses over the next 12 months has been unveiled by an alternative finance provider.
https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/midlands/50m-investment-plan-revealed

Fire chiefs call for sprinklers in all UK schools

All new and refurbished schools in the UK should be fitted with sprinklers, fire chiefs say.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41744582

UK economic growth picks up slightly in third quarter

The UK’s economic growth picked up moderately in the third quarter as GDP increased by 0.4 per cent after the manufacturing sector returned to expansion.
http://www.cityam.com/274522/uk-economic-growth-picks-up-slightly-third-quarter

UK manufacturers ‘must invest more in automation to remain competitive’

British manufacturers risk falling behind European competitors because of a lack of investment in automation, a yearly survey has shown.
http://www.imeche.org/news/news-article/uk-manufacturers-‘must-invest-more-in-automation-to-remain-competitive’

Building the new Tower of London

THE days have long gone when hungry dockers queued for the daily ‘call on’ at West India Docks -desperate to secure work and a few pennies to feed themselves and their families.
https://www.metro.news/building-the-new-tower-of-london/792568/

Plan for £40m Chester medical school

The University of Chester has unveiled plans to build a £40m medical school at its main Parkgate Road Campus
http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2017/10/23/plan-for-40m-chester-medical-school/

Construction sector grows but firms fear staff shortage

Building firms in most parts of the UK have said growth slowed down during the third quarter of the year, according to a survey released today.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/northern-ireland/construction-sector-grows-but-firms-fear-staff-shortage-36250359.html