Construction industry of the United Kingdom
The construction industry of the united kingdom contributed gross value of £64,747 million to the UK economy in 2004.[1] The industry employed around 2.2 million people in the fourth quarter of 2009.[2] There were around 194,000 construction firms in Great Britain in 2009, of which around 75,400 employed just one person and 62 employed over 1,200 people.[2] In 2009 the construction industry in Great Britain received total orders of around £18.7 billion from the private sector and £15.1 billion from the public sector.[2] While manufacturing in the United Kingdom shrank as a proportion of the economy between 1948 and 2013, replaced by the service sector, construction remained relatively flat at about 6% of the economy.[3]
As of 2012, the largest construction project in the UK is Crossrail. Due to open in 2018, it will be a new railway line running east to west through London and into the surrounding counties with a branch to Heathrow Airport.[4] The main feature of the project is construction of 42 km (26 mi) of new tunnels connecting stations in central London. It is also Europe's biggest construction project with a £15 billion projected cost.[5][6]
Prospective major construction projects include either expansion of London Heathrow Airport or expansion of Gatwick Airport, construction of the High Speed 2 rail line between London and the West Midlands, and construction of the Crossrail 2 rail line in London.
The industry was pushed into a period of turmoil following the Brexit vote in June 2016. Fears of a lack of EU labour post-Brexit were cited as a key reason for the uncertainty. [7][8][9] Despite this, the industry has been performing better than expected in the months since, leading to cautious optimism in some quarters. [10][11]
See also
- Build UK
- Architecture of the United Kingdom
- Construction Products Association
- Housing in the United Kingdom
References
- ↑ "United Kingdom National Accounts The Blue Book 2006" (PDF). 2006-08-22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
- 1 2 3 "Construction Statistics Annual 2010" (PDF). Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
- ↑ "Seven things you need to know about the UK economy". The Guardian. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ "Crossrail Regional Map". Crossrail Ltd. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ↑ "Crossrail's giant tunnelling machines unveiled". BBC News. 2 January 2012.
- ↑ Leftly, Mark (29 August 2010). "Crossrail delayed to save £1bn". The Independent on Sunday. London.
- ↑ correspondent, Phillip Inman Economics (2016-07-04). "Construction becomes first casualty of Brexit as housebuilders get jitters". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
- ↑ "Brexit vote sparks biggest plunge in construction since the financial crisis". The Independent. 2016-08-02. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
- ↑ ""Brexit could worsen construction skills crisis"". ITV News. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
- ↑ "Construction activity hit a four-month high in April". The Independent. 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
- ↑ "Construction & Manufacturing enjoy growth in uncertain times | Resapol". Resapol. 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2017-07-11.