29 Jan 2014, 3:20 pm
In a report (48-page / 1.3MB PDF), the Construction Industry Training Board said that the increase will not be spread evenly, with output growth being the strongest in the south west, Wales, and East Anglia. It said that private housing will grow by 4.6% a year between now and 2018.
"As the figures in this publication show, the outlook doesn’t give cause for optimism, in the short term at least," said Construction Skills Network chair Judy Lowe. "Nearly every sector of the industry will continue to struggle with only private housing, repair and maintenance and industrial sectors predicted to achieve anything like consistent growth."
Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation, adopted a more positive approach to the findings of the report. "All political parties recognise the social and economic benefits of increased housing supply and policies need to promote this, but as the economy recovers, and lending conditions improve generally, we look to the future with confidence," he said.
The report predicts that housing will account for 37% of the UK’s annual construction output between 2014 and 2018, and as a result it forecasts that 182,000 construction jobs will be created in the next five years.
