Featured Region: North East

Post-credit crunch the flow of construction starts, and output, have until recently remained at low ebb in the north east of England. However the last year has seen recovery take off at a rapid pace, with 2014 seeing starts rise by 24% and output up by 19%.

The first quarter of 2015 saw starts continue to expand strongly, with the region continuing to outpace London and Southern England, where recovery took hold earlier in the cycle. However the election related hiatus has had a stark impact in the region, and starts during the second quarter were down 44% compared to the same period of 2014.

Moreover the development pipeline simultaneously weakened even as starts strengthened, with the value of detailed planning approvals falling during 2014 and into the start of this year. We therefore expect growth in the value of underlying project starts to slow to a modest 3% during the current year. However a more recent surge in approvals, which rose by 90% year on year during the three months to June, bodes well for activity further ahead.

North East consists of the following Counties:  Cleveland, County Durham, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear.