INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION BY raconteur.net #0456 13 / 06 / 2017 FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION WILL BREXIT SHAKE FOUNDATIONS SPACE INVADERS AND CHANGE IS IN THE AIR 05 THE MICROHOMES 12 WITH CITY POLLUTION 03 OF UK CONSTRUCTION? Pressure on space and aff ordability Accused as a polluter, the construction Experts are divided over troubled times ahead for UK mega-projects is driving building of micro-houses industry can now clean up its act YOU CAN SEE CHANGE. BUT CAN YOU DO CHANGE? RACONTEUR.NET 13 / 06 / 2017 FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION 03 OVERVIEW FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION Will Brexit shake DISTRIBUTED IN UK construction? PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH Opinion is divided on whether Brexit will undermine mega construction projects in the UK, with some experts warning of troubled times ahead construction workforce, many peo- RACONTEUR JOHN OSBORNE ple are still worried. Andrew Goldman, group mar- PUBLISHING MANAGER DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER vast army of talented en- keting and technology director at Jack Pepperell Jessica McGreal gineers and other con- Rydon Group, a construction, devel- PRODUCTION EDITOR DESIGN struction professionals opment, maintenance and manage- Benjamin Chiou Samuele Motta are working flat out to ment group, explains: “The UK con- Grant Chapman Acomplete massive projects in the Images J Mitchell/Getty Jeff struction sector shrank after the UK MANAGING EDITOR Kellie Jerrard UK, including Crossrail and the voted to leave the EU, but has shown Peter Archer Thames Tideway Tunnel. Will some recovery subsequently.” Brexit affect investment in these Also, he is concerned about the construction projects, as well as supply of labour. “There are simply the cost and availability of materi- not enough British workers to meet als and labour? the demands of the construction CONTRIBUTORS “The infrastructure projects in industry and Brexit threatens to di- which we invest should experience minish EU resources further,” says limited fallout from Brexit,” accord- Mr Goldman. According to London DANNY BUCKLAND NICK EASEN ing to Giles Frost, chief executive at Assembly fi gures in February 2017, Award-winning health Award-winning freelance International Public Partnership, 25 per cent of construction workers journalist, he writes journalist and broadcaster, the FTSE 250 infrastructure fund in the capital were from the Europe- for national newspapers he produces for BBC which is a member of the Bazalgette an Union. and magazines, and blogs World News and writes Consortium investing in and deliv- The cost of materials is anoth- on health innovation on business, economics, and technology. science, technology, ering the Thames Tideway scheme. er worry. He says: “Sixty four per construction and travel. “In the 11 months since the referen- cent of the building materials dum, we haven’t seen any slowdown used in the UK are imported from in investors wanting to invest in UK the EU. The EU is also the largest JIM McCLELLAND JOHN OSBORNE Sustainable futurist, his Freelance industrial infrastructure projects.” market for the construction mate- specialisms include built journalist, he has Mr Frost, who is also chief execu- rials we export, purchasing 63 per environment, corporate written extensively on tive of Amber Infrastructure, adds: cent. Brexit will potentially lead to social responsibility and construction, engineering “Infrastructure investment is low heavy duties or limits on quanti- ecosystem services. and maintenance. risk and uncorrelated to the wid- ties of materials.” er equity markets. The day after In mid-May, the Brexit Infrastruc- the referendum, the share price of ture Group of the Institution of Civ- International Public Partnerships il Engineers sent an open letter to leaders of the political parties, out- increased while the broader FTSE Construction of the new £1.4-billion, went down because of the immedi- 1.7-mile bridge over the Firth of Forth, lining the risks faced by the infra- ate uncertainty. Brexit has had no South Queensferry structure sector ahead of the gener- negative impact on investment in al election and Brexit negotiations. infrastructure.” The UK is a world leader in con- Grahame Carter, managing di- It said the government must clar- However, fear and scepticism sur- struction and civil engineering, rector of Matchtech, a leading ify the UK’s future relationship round Brexit. “Uncertainty is never but labour costs are another ma- engineering recruitment agency, with the European Investment good for business,” he says. “Brexit jor concern. “UK construction is says: “To deliver projects similar Bank following departure from has caused unnecessary confusion becoming increasingly depend- to the scale of High Speed 2 and the EU. “The Brexit Infrastructure and navel gazing. It is an extra com- ent on skilled labour, as well as Thames Tideway, some coun- Group has offered a three-part plexity that nobody predicted, but unskilled labour, from overseas,” tries, including Dubai and Qatar, strategy to ensure Brexit does not thanks to the long-term nature of says Mr Frost. It is possible labour implement a visa system. Com- disrupt the delivery of the planned our horizons, infrastructure invest- costs will go up if the UK is less panies that win contracts are al- pipeline of major infrastructure ment is well positioned to weather able to access labour from over- located a set number of visas to projects, which underpins gov- this uncertainty.” seas, he says, also expressing con- guarantee enough talent to com- ernment’s current efforts to drive But a major concern is the cost of cern that immigration controls plete the project successfully.” up UK productivity. This planned hiring the tunnel boring machines might be introduced which could Although there is a considerable pipeline will require £500 billion used on major projects. David prevent or deter workers normal- amount of optimism about willing- of private investment over the next O’Reilly, vice president of KBR, for- ly resident outside the UK from ness to invest in large infrastructure ten years,” the group said. Although this publication is funded through advertising and merly Kellogg Brown & Root, says coming here. projects and confi dence in the UK’s But the Royal Institute of Char- sponsorship, all editorial is without bias and sponsored features plant costs could soar, but expects tered Surveyors (RICS) warns of dif- are clearly labelled. For an upcoming schedule, partnership inquiries or feedback, please call +44 (0)20 3877 3800 or e-mail fi nancing of the machinery to have fi cult times ahead. [email protected] been managed by buying euros at RICS says the UK construction Raconteur is a leading publisher of special-interest content forward rates, thereby minimising industry is “already facing skills and research. Its publications and articles cover a wide range the eff ect of detrimental fl uctua- shortages, jeopardising a predicted of topics, including business, fi nance, sustainability, healthcare, tions in the exchange rate. £500-billion project pipeline” and lifestyle and technology. Raconteur special reports are published Mr O’Reilly, who is project direc- adds that “8 per cent of the UK’s exclusively in The Times and The Sunday Times as well as online tor of the Qatar Expressway Pro- construction workforce comes from at raconteur.net gramme, urges UK construction the EU”. The information contained in this publication has been obtained professionals to look beyond Eu- “Post-Brexit, should the UK lose from sources the Proprietors believe to be correct. However, no legal liability can be accepted for any errors. No part of this rope. “For UK businesses, the world access to the single market, 176,500 publication may be reproduced without the prior consent of the is your oyster. We have considerable 64% 63% 8% jobs could be under threat,” RICS Publisher. © Raconteur Media skills. These skills have no associa- of the building of the construction of the UK’s warns, adding that “30 per cent tion with Brexit. There is an appetite materials used materials exported construction of construction professionals sur- for UK professionals. That is why in the UK are from the UK go workforce come veyed revealed that hiring non-UK KBR has been trading successfully imported from to the EU from the EU workers was important to the suc- @raconteur /raconteur.net @raconteur_london the EU for the last 30 to 40 years,” he says. cess of their businesses”. /future-construction-2017 RACONTEUR.NET 13 / 06 / 2017 FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION 03 OVERVIEW FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION Will Brexit shake DISTRIBUTED IN UK construction? PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH Opinion is divided on whether Brexit will undermine mega construction projects in the UK, with some experts warning of troubled times ahead construction workforce, many peo- RACONTEUR JOHN OSBORNE ple are still worried. Andrew Goldman, group mar- PUBLISHING MANAGER DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER vast army of talented en- keting and technology director at Jack Pepperell Jessica McGreal gineers and other con- Rydon Group, a construction, devel- PRODUCTION EDITOR DESIGN struction professionals opment, maintenance and manage- Benjamin Chiou Samuele Motta are working flat out to ment group, explains: “The UK con- Grant Chapman Acomplete massive projects in the Images J Mitchell/Getty Jeff struction sector shrank after the UK MANAGING EDITOR Kellie Jerrard UK, including Crossrail and the voted to leave the EU, but has shown Peter Archer Thames Tideway Tunnel. Will some recovery subsequently.” Brexit affect investment in these Also, he is concerned about