The South West’s construction industry is emerging, like NHS staff and centenarian fundraiser Captain Tom Moore, as a Covid hero.
Building firms rallied to create at double quick time and the sector is leading the nation’s fightback against recession.
Although West Country housing developments temporarily stopped, other business and infrastructure sites were soon back in action following the March 23 lockdown decree, and continued to provide jobs and an economic shot in the arm for the ailing economy.
And now Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants the 海角视频 to “build back better” and will boost spending on infrastructure as he plans to “level up” the nation economically.
That will be good news for the South West, where key industry figures are confident the sector will be a post-pandemic pulse-raiser.
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They point to important on-going large scale developments, led by the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset, the Sherford and Cranbrook housing schemes in Plymouth and Exeter, and others in the pipeline, such as the planned A303 upgrade.
And the industry is likely to emerge from the Covid period with a focus on greener and even higher quality construction.
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That’s not to say there are not any challenges, with some firms concerned about supply chain issues, particularly with full Brexit looming, and the fear that local procurement may be overlooked.
But, overall, the industry remains upbeat and buoyant with Constructing Excellence South West chairman Andrew Carpenter saying: ““We are in a really good position.”
He explained: “Construction probably recovered better and faster than any other sector. We are nearly back to 100% for infrastructure and housing. Productivity is very high.
“Most sites closed for a week or two and put in place social distancing measures, but once they were in place, were able to return to work.”
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He said that pre-pandemic the sector had an image problem but its work on essential projects won the nation over and even “put it on a pedestal”.
“The major obstacle was public perception, but we were considered a vital industry, particularly for our work for health and education,”he said. “ Until Covid public perception was not that good, but the way we came together and delivered the Nightingale Hospitals put construction on a pedestal.”
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He said the industry has now emerged as a united front, and able to lobby the Government effectively.
“We have never seen the 海角视频 construction industry more joined up, right through to ministers and Government. Post Covid-19 we should not be the same industry that went in.”
Mr Carpenter said that will include a push for net-zero carbon targets, a move towards greater quality and safety, post-Grenfell, and opportunities in new areas such as off-site construction, the creation of elements such as modules and panels in factories.
“The leading exponents are in the South West,” he said. “Cornwall is rife with timber frame.”
And then there will be the changes wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, such as the need to repurpose buildings in city centres where retail and office space may need a fresh future.
“Are people going to go back into shops? Not to the same degree,” Mr Carpenter said. “So the other thing that will create jobs is the regeneration of city centres.
“We have seen the move away from office working in the city centres, though it will come back to a degree. But many people now working from home will not want to travel back into Plymouth or Exeter day in day out.
“We will see a lot of city centre office locations made into accommodation, and that will be a refurbishment opportunity for many companies.”
He said suburban “hubs” for working and business could become a new feature, along with the need for more e-commerce warehousing.
“There will be the creation of hubs,” he said. “And we are also going to see an increase in warehouses, and distribution depots are going to be a growth area.
“The whole of construction in the South West is very rosy going forward,” he concluded. “And if you look at Boris Johnson’s Build Back Better he is saying the construction industry will bring us out of this.”
The sentiment is shared by the Federation of Master Builders, which said the initial lockdown saw construction work across the region drop by 40%.
By May this left more than 60% of businesses reliant on Government support, such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme under which workers were on furlough.
But Phil Hodge, FMB south director, said that changed, and added: “Fortunately, from what many of our members have been telling us, there is evidence of a bounce-back for the sector in the South West as we move into Autumn, with pent-up demand driving building activity near to capacity.
“However, FMB builders in the South West are reporting difficulties in the supply of some key materials, with further concerns surrounding the availability of supplies once our exit from the EU completes at the end of the year.
He said the FMB welcomed the Government’s Green Homes Grants scheme, which will support further activity within the sector, and also “encourages the formulation of a deeper national retrofit strategy that can support continued and stable investment in the longer term.”
Mark Duddridge, chair of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, also highlighted the importance of the sector, but has some concerns too.
"The construction industry has a vital part to play in supporting growth and is quite literally the foundation on which so much economic activity is built.,” he said.
“The sector has proved resilient in the face of Covid-19 but there remain longer term issues including an aging workforce and the need to upskill as the climate emergency drives rapid changes in technology.
“Our focus is on working with the industry to help address these challenges and opportunities so that it continues to support a prosperous and sustainable economy across Cornwall and Scilly."
Among the key firms working in the region’s construction sector, the consultancy Ward Williams Associates has been involved in many high-profile developments, including the new The Wave inland surfing destination near Bristol.
It highlighted major projects in the region that have continued despite the challenges of Covid including several in Cornwall such as the Carlyon Bay redevelopment (developer CEG), the West Carclaze Garden Village (developer ECO-BOS), and major housing projects at Newquay, Redruth and Launceston (developer Treveth).
But the firm, which has seven South West offices including in Plymouth and Truro, is just hoping the bounty from a national building boom filters down to local levels.
“As an industry and as individual businesses we have faced unforeseen challenges in the past eight months,” a WWA spokesperson said.
“But the construction community in the South West has been united in remaining positive and supporting each other to ensure the sector remains strong and resilient.
“The Construction Industry Council (CLC) quickly issued Site Operating Procedures during Covid-19 which has been regularly updated as the situation has developed.
“Buildings and infrastructure schemes that were on site have largely continued, in some form, to be constructed.”
But WWA said that there is a concern about the lower number of new starts on site and the commissioning of new projects in the early stages of concept and design.
“The pipeline of new projects is a worry for all construction businesses in the South West particularly the smaller businesses,” the spokesperson said. “Although the Government is promoting the Build Back Better ethos, we are not seeing many of these ‘big spend’ projects in this region and certainly not accessible to smaller, regional businesses.
“Our public sector clients have been proactive in getting back on site quickly and safely. Regional initiatives in the public sector, such as Plymouth City Council’s Resurgam Programme, have sought to encourage local procurement and support recovery.
“The fruition of these initiatives will be critical to South West-based SMEs and in many cases the make or break.
“The merit of using local suppliers has been evident on many projects including Market Hall, in Devonport; and The Box, also in Plymouth.
“The Nightingale Hospital in Exeter was delivered within an incredibly short programme including WWA, Stride Treglown, Service Design Solutions, TClarke and BAM Construction.
“We are still seeing large Government construction-related frameworks such as Crown Commercial Services Consultants Framework requiring applicants to provide national coverage.
“Any framework that requires national coverage will be problematic for SMEs. With new Social Value legislation due in January 2021 we are promised that the new approach will mean more opportunities for SMEs and social enterprises to win Government contracts.”
WWA has maintained a core Covid response team that continuously monitors the Government and industry advice. The team has assessed and communicated the potential impact of any changes to staff, clients and fellow professionals.
“Communication has always been a key factor in the delivery of successful projects, right now it’s probably the most important,” the spokesperson said. “We are constantly heartened and encouraged by how the South West construction industry has responded to the pandemic, camaraderie in the true sense of the word.
Another leading company, Plymouth’s Service Design Solution, also had to react rapidly when Covid arrived in the 海角视频.
A spokesperson said: “Lockdown was a worry for our business as well as the rest of the industry. Overnight, many clients and our peers were working from home, or on furlough, making communication more challenging.
“We had a strong pipeline of work and our investment in technology allowed for continuity of the delivery of projects, taking us through the initial stage of lockdown.”
The firm’s expertise in healthcare engineering and the depth of its resources, meant it was approached to work on NHS Nightingale, in Exeter.
“This required a significant amount of resource to develop the design of the building’s mechanical and electrical engineering systems,” the spokesperson said. “At a similar time, the government suggested that construction should carry on and act as the accelerator to kickstart the economy.
“This has resulted in clients returning to us with projects which have received additional government funding, or ‘shovel-ready’.
“In addition there was funding released for further Covid response facilities at a number of the region’s hospital estates. Our experience at Nightingale demonstrated our expertise in delivering complex projects of this nature.
“We currently see a positive upturn in work until the end of the year. However, our concern would be with the Government’s long-term strategy and investment in construction when considered in the wider context of the huge national debt that has been caused by the pandemic.
“We see the construction industry as an enabler to invest in cross cutting themes, create new jobs for young people and offer opportunities for decarbonisation of building stock.
“The South West has many talented and skilled construction businesses. We would welcome Government initiatives to make these companies preferred suppliers, to develop and support our local economy and keep work and jobs within our region.”