Chancellor to detail £7bn spending pledge for local transportThe pledge will amount to £1.5bn of extra new cash to supplement previous spending commitments on infrastructure over the next five years.
It will be directed at areas outside of London to level up transport with new train and station upgrades and expansion of trams, with £1.2bn also allocated to improve bus services.
Local transport infrastructure commitments will see West Yorkshire given £830m while South Yorkshire receives £570m.
Around £1.05bn will be freshly committed in the West Midlands, £710mm for the Liverpool City region, £310 in Tees Valley, and £540m granted to the West of England.
New home starts slump 27% amid labour and materials crisisEvidence is emerging that widespread materials and labour shortages are stifling new housing starts.
Fresh figures from the National House Building Council show that new home registrations slumped 27% in the third quarter to 33,780 albeit from a 14-year record high of 46,440 in the second quarter.
The fall was also partly attributed to housing associations prioritising remedial works like fire safety measures ahead of building affordable rented homes.
New home registration returns also reveal a shift away from apartment living back to houses, suggesting a post COVID focus on houses ahead of apartments.
Battle starts for £600m YORbuild minor works dealThe bid race has started for places on procurement body YORbuild’s minor works framework which is expected to account for £600m of spending over the next four years.
The third generation framework will align with the Government Construction playbook and the Value Toolkit due to be launched by the Construction Innovation Hub later this year.
It is being divided into five regional lots across Yorkshire, with each region split into three project-type lots.
Regions: North West Yorkshire; North East Yorkshire; East; West; South
Project Type: Work Up to £1m; Projects £1m-£4m; New housing up to 25 units.
Construction output falls 0.2% as blockages and price rises biteConstruction work fell 0.2% to £14.2bn in August, with the industry held back by product shortages, supply chain blockages, and price rises, according to the latest data from the Office of National Statistics.
The ONS stated that new work remained flat in the month, while repair and maintenance activity fell by 0.6%.
Construction output in August was 1.5% below the pre-pandemic level last February.
A broader look at the three months to August measure shows that construction fell by 1.2%, the first three-monthly fall since last July. This was driven by a 4.7% fall in repair and maintenance work.
Sources:
Chancellor to detail £7bn spending pledge for local transport | Construction Enquirer News
New home starts slump 27% amid labour and materials crisis | Construction Enquirer News
Battle starts for £600m YORbuild minor works deal | Construction Enquirer News
Construction output falls 0.2% as blockages and price rises bite: ONS | Mortgage Strategy
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