Featured Region: North West

Underlying value of construction projects starting on site. (Excludes individual projects of more than £100 million and framework agreements).

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The North West consists of the following Counties: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Isle of Man.

Prior to 2011 construction in the North West had a flat couple of years. However, by the end of 2010, the value of projects starts had dropped 24% since their peak in 2007. A lack of office, health and civil engineering projects since the crisis of 2008 counteracted gains in other sectors, such as private housing, retail and hotel & leisure.

The latest decline in office projects follows a marked negative trend over the last few years. During 2007, office projects starts made up 15% of the regional total; however this figure declined to just 5% by 2011. Developers continue to put office construction projects on hold as firms in the wider economy have reduced their workforces.

Over 2011, the North West has seen one of the biggest drops in underlying project starts in the UK. Almost all sectors are down on 2010; industrial and community & amenity have seen decent growth, while the flow of retail starts has remained stable. We expect this general trend of retrenchment to continue in the over the course of 2012.