Construction growth welcomed at North East construction firm

Ongoing growth in the construction sector has been welcomed by a North East’s building firm.

Construction output rocketed by 4.9 per cent between the third quarters of 2012 and 2013, according to latest GDP figures. The Office for National Statistics also found that growth in construction rose by 2.5 per cent between the second and third quarters of this year.

The encouraging results have been welcomed by Hartlepool-based construction firm Gus Robinson Developments (GRD) as a clear indicator that the economic outlook is brightening.

But the firm’s chairman said the next challenge would be to ensure the sector remains resourced with the best possible workforce.

GRD chairman Dan Robinson said: “The upturn in the construction industry is a prime indicator for economic recovery. When construction and housing start to move, the economy will follow. It’s been led from the South East but things are certainly picking up in this region and I am very optimistic moving forward.

“But with it come additional pressures particular in terms of finding skilled people. With more work about, the best people soon get picked off for the best jobs. But that’s an issue we all need to address within the construction industry and ensure we have skilled people throughout.”

Mr Robinson said that GRD had experienced first-hand the impact of the worldwide recession but had successfully come through a challenging few years. The business, which employs 100 staff, has recently completed a £1.7million social housing project for Vela Group in Hartlepool and has several other housing schemes in the pipeline.

It has also started work on an accommodation block for students at Cleveland College of Art and Design in Hartlepool.

While the latest GDP figures show overall economic growth of 0.8 per cent, the construction sector provided 0.15 per cent of that increase. The ONS said that new private housing and commercial work contributed to that increase, boosted by the Government’s Help to Buy scheme and infrastructure projects such as Crossrail, which is Europe’s largest construction project.

Mr Robinson added: “It has been a very challenging time for us all in overcoming this overwhelming debt crisis and the worst recession in 35 years.

“We have been hit harder than most in the North East but we are through the worst of it and I have every reason to be optimistic not just for this business, but for the construction sector and the North East.”