How do we boost construction in the North-west?

The Greater Manchester area could be taken as a prime case study on the role that devolution can play within the built environment industries.

As such, it seems like the natural place to explore how construction and development opportunities can influence and help attain regional needs. In the words of Paul Mann, regional director for northern England at Gleeds: “We’ve still got a lot to do as an industry, but that can be exciting if we can capture the opportunities. If we’re going to keep evolving, now is the moment.”

Since the start of the year, the Building the Future Commission has been working to discover solutions and initiatives to improve the built environment. The project does not focus on one area but instead is divided into eight workstreams focused on different aspects of the industry.

As part of the commission’s fact-finding work, and in partnership with Constructing Excellence, we are going around the country convening high-level roundtable discussions with experts in different regions to ensure that the commission hears from all corners of the UK.

The first of these saw Building gather a group of experts who each had links to the East of England for a chat about skills in a region that some see as living in London’s shadow, before the commission’s roadshow headed to Newcastle to hear from those in the North-east for a discussion about net zero and energy.

The third stop on the tour was Manchester for a discussion, sponsored by Willmott Dixon, all about the work opportunities for built environment firms in the North-west and how they can best deliver the region’s needs.

The North-west panel (listed below), chaired by Building’s editorial director Chloë McCulloch, was made up of construction leaders, all of whom have strong connections to the region and a high level of local knowledge and experience.

A vision for the region

“One of the key things we’re currently trying to finalise is the strategic framework for Greater Manchester, which is now with the planning inspector. We’re hoping to have a letter with any final tweaks and amendments shortly,” said Eamonn Boylan, chief executive, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).

“Hopefully, that will start to really open things up in terms of future funding, not only for direct development but also to inform our discussions with major infrastructure providers who we need to influence to spend their investment programmes to support our growth agenda over time.”

The importance of local frameworks and plans was something reiterated by James Blakey, planning director at Moda Living. A key aim for his firm is to create developments in areas where people really want to live, and the placemaking ambitions of local authorities are key to that “in terms of their vision about how those places are going to be invested in not just in the short term, but the medium to longer term. We look to invest in areas which have got that vision, that passion to create places.”

Ben Townsend, director of new business at L&Q, said Greater Manchester is an example other areas should draw on. He said: “L&Q’s approach in the North-west – and in London in the South-east – shows how the delivery of strategic projects at scale can occur. We have got a clear placemaking strategy that we’ve demonstrated in the North-west and in London, and there’s huge potential for that to go further. In the North-west we are very keen to do that with public and private sector partners.”

Visibility of pipeline

A number of panellists said one of the key changes that could be made to support the North-west’s built environment sector – and the region more broadly – is improving the visibility of upcoming work.

Katherine Kitchener, northern regional head of land and development at Willmott Dixon, said: “Early engagement and the pipeline management piece are significant. There is often a reluctance to engage early, so someone comes to you a week before and you can already see there’s all kinds of problems that affect your ability to meet that timeline and to work on that and take it forward.

“On top of that, a lot of the work we do is set within public sector funding which is reliant on this bid or that bid, and then they don’t get it and the funding falls away. You then have to be careful about how much of your pipeline comes from that, as these things are so reliant on funding coming in – and varying business cases, changing interest rates, changing political persuasions can all change that.” She added that there needs to be longer-term thinking in public sector plans.

Peter McDermott, who sits on the board of directors at Constructing Excellence and is a construction professor at Salford university, said: “We have really few public sector clients who say they explicitly want to get to know the markets and reduce forces that get in the way. Procurement vehicles have been developed in all shapes and forms, but a lot of frameworks really don’t support the sector.” Frameworks are too often expensive to bid for, don’t ensure a consistent workload or lack a quality guarantee, he said, adding that reform here is key.  

John Marland, director of building and construction at Bruntwood, pointed out issues with the pipeline, saying there are often times when there is more work than the supply chain can deal with. “It can’t all be feast or famine,” he said. “It is too hard for both clients and the supply chain to manage work when it is so cyclical and up and down. Clients can’t bring forward projects if they are worried about supply chain security, and contractors can’t increase capacity if they are unsure about work coming forward.”

Gwen Beeken, managing director of Osco Homes and Procure Plus, said the opportunities that retrofit presents – from both a net zero and a building safety perspective – will be key to future pipelines. “The risk and opportunities the retrofit agenda presents need to be balanced carefully,” she said. “There is obviously risk involved, but if we handle this carefully we will ensure we have the quality of stock required but also a secure pipeline of work.”

Looking after the workforce

“The industry is second only to the military for divorces,” said James Flannery, land and construction director at Sovini Group. “That shows the pressure our staff are under. There are a lot of competing forces; it’s an anxiety game, and we need to start having better ways of handling that.”  Flannery said reducing the financial pressures on firms is the key way to improve staff wellbeing. For the SMEs that make up a majority of the construction industry to flourish and provide for their staff, there needs to be a reduction in tendering costs and improved timelines for creating bids.

A number of the panellists also raised concerns about staff training and wellbeing, with Nicola Hodkinson, director at Seddon, saying one key adjustment would be altering the typical approach of zero-hours contracts in construction (see solutions panel below). 

Emma Porter, managing director at Story Contracting, added that while industry-wide wage growth would be ideal, there does need to be a consideration for how smaller firms and projects can compete for resources. “Wage inflation around major projects, such as HS2, mean that there can be multiple tiers of staff even within the same company, and that can cause problems,” she said. “We need to find a way that enables all firms to pay more equitably if we want to improve equality for all those working within the sector.” 

Rob Hopkins, director of architecture at AHR Architects, said skills development is vital as we look to address issues such as decarbonisation. “I see both the challenge and the opportunity for our industry around skills development – and particularly around carbon literacy,” he said. “At the moment we are charging people more to understand less about their project, and that’s certainly where I feel a lot of the issue around the cost of decarbonisation lies. By boosting these skills there will be a whole host of benefits.”

The solutions

As the roundtable approached its end after an hour and a half of enthusiastic debate, the panel were asked to come out with proposals for the Building the Future Commission. Responses (see below) included suggestions around encouraging and enabling the open sharing of information, how to enable change within the construction supply chain, and how to boost public and private collaboration.

The key takeaways for the commission from the North-west of England roundtable were around the importance of the industry collaborating and sharing best practice, investing in public sector resource and expertise, and clearly establishing the best way to deliver social value for local communities.