Featured Region: Scotland

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

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Scotland consists of the following Counties: Borders, Central, Dumfries & Galloway, Fife, Grampian, Highlands, Lothian, Strathclyde, Tayside, Orkney Isles, Shetland Isles, Western Isles.

The Scottish construction market benefitted from a marked increase in public sector projects as the Scottish Government pumped money into large projects. Civil engineering was a major beneficiary as several large projects which commenced in over the past three years.

However, the decision to bring forward capital funding into the 2009/10 financial year will increasingly constrain the flow of public sector projects. The decline in detailed planning approvals in the public sector that Glenigan recorded 2010 and 2011 has constrained underlying project starts in 2011, and will continue to do so over this year.

Over 2011 Scotland’s underlying value of start on sites has fallen 8% versus the previous year. Industrial, private housing and office starts have been scarce last year, after rebounds in 2010. Though retail has seen a strong flow of project starts, 2011 was not a great year for new work in the Scottish construction industry.