Four Factors Affecting the Building Industry in UK

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A number of factors are contributing towards the changes in the trend in the building industry worldwide. The numbers of development in the construction industry in UK especially have a long lasting effect on the requirement in the years to come. Let us look at some of them.

Carbon reduction regulations:

The carbon emission target of 34% that has been stipulated by the UK government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment to be achieved by 2020 will have some long lasting effects on the construction trends that are followed in the UK. The Scottish government has set an even higher percentage of 42 to be achieved by the country by the same time.

General growth:

In spite of the enormous depression that the country is going through it is being predicted that there will be some enormous projects that are going to be underway during the next four years in United Kingdom, such as Crossrail and Underground developments in South East England, Thameslink expansion, the Titanic Quarter in Belfast and the new Forth Road crossing in Scotland (Source: http://bit.ly/YoqKKf) among some others. Even though the expenditure in public housing will be lower in 2011-2015 compared to that in 2008-2011, but the expenditure in private housing construction will increase by 50% during the same time.

Changes in the demography in the country:

The population density under the age of 16 is reducing and that of the pensionable age is increasing in UK. This is not only affecting the construction design and the budget but also the workforce who are engaged in building the houses. This is something that should be taken into account as a major portion of the skills will be lost in the next couple of decades.

These are some of the factors that are and will affect the trends in the construction industry of United Kingdom. Even though it is specific to the country, there are many that will affect the building industry worldwide.

Impact of technology:

The technology used in the building industry is undergoing rapid change and the builders are trying to make use of these technologies in their field. Wind, tidal and solar energy usages are at their all time high and work is in progress in an attempt to replace the traditional boilers by them. Also, changes in building materials are taking place and materials like steel are being used to a great extent by the homeowners. Steel buildings are easy to build and are very easy to maintain. Besides, they are cost efficient.