Featured Region: Scotland

Last Updated:

4th February 2013

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

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

Scotland endured a drop in the value of underlying project starts in 2011, a year which saw modest growth across the UK as a whole. Last year saw projects starts stabilise, but the 1% growth in Scotland again fell short of the growth seen across the UK as a whole.

Predominantly publicly funded sectors, such as education and social housing, saw a decline in project starts in line with government budget cuts, while a recovery in health project starts only partially reverse the declines seen in 2011. The private sector fared better, however, with the value of office, industrial and private housing projects rising year-on-year.

There are specific plans to invest in education, health and transport schemes over the next few years, but it’s likely the overall spend will decrease. This means it will be left to the private sector to spur growth in construction.