Boban John
Monthly construction output in Great Britain is estimated to have fallen by 0.2% in volume terms in January 2025. This follows a decrease of 0.2% in December 2024.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) data show that the decrease in monthly output came solely from a fall in new work (0.7%) as repair & maintenance grew by 0.4%.
Anecdotal evidence from survey returns indicated adverse weather – heavy rain, snow and storms – impacting on output.
At sector level, three out of the nine sectors fell in January 2025. The main contributors to the overall monthly decrease were private commercial new work and private housing new work, which fell by 6.1% and 1.8%, respectively.
Despite industry activity shrinking in December and January, the 0.6% rise in activity seen last November means that over the three months to January 2025 construction output is estimated to have increased by 0.4%, with 1.4% growth in the value of new build work but a 0.9% reduction in repair & maintenance.
Clive Docwra, managing director of property and construction consultancy McBains, commented: “The industry will be concerned to see private commercial new work falling by more than 6% and private housing new work by 1.8%. The worry is that longer term stagnation in the wider economy risks having a continued impact in terms of investor uncertainty, which may lead to further projects being put on hold. The Planning & Infrastructure Bill, published earlier this week, contains welcome measures to reform the system, and the industry will hope this injects some more confidence among developers and investors in the months ahead.”
Scott Motley, head of programme, project and cost management at Aecom, is also putting his faith in planning reform. “A negative reading tallies with other industry barometers and confirms the notable slowdown seen since the start of the year,” he said.
“With the UK’s much-needed infrastructure upgrades at the heart of the government’s growth strategy, the latest raft of announcements from Whitehall brings reason for optimism for contractors concerned by challenging economic conditions. Indeed, the much-trailed Planning & Infrastructure Bill is the most significant shift towards a properly supported, long-term infrastructure strategy in a generation.
Motley concluded: “The Bill should ultimately facilitate greater private sector investment – the need for which is likely to come into even sharper focus as the chancellor potentially eyes up more cuts to local authority funding ahead of the spring statement.”
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