
This week, Advantage learnt that construction output has boosted the GDP for Wales.
As reported by the BBC: Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measures the value of goods and services produced, rose 0.3% in the last quarter of 2018. GDP estimates the size of and growth in the economy.
Construction was the strongest sector in 2018 and drove the growth in Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Quarterly estimates are now available for Wales, as well as nine English regions. Education, transport and storage also contributed to Welsh growth in the period.
ONS said the new indicators give a “unique insight” into the economic fortunes of Wales and each region of England.
The figures – in use since the 1940s in the UK – have been broken down for Scotland since 2002, while Northern Ireland has published its own index of economic indicators since 2013.
Of the main industrial sectors, the construction sector was the main driver of GDP within Wales in the last quarter of 2018 – a rise of 3.3% – followed by the services sector at 0.09 percentage points.
MacBryde Homes, based in St Asaph, Denbighshire, has been a developer for nearly 35 years – and was listed 14th in the Fast Growth 50 index in 2018.
Managing director Gwyn Jones said:
“Mortgage rates are excellent, banks are lending and evidently there’s a need for housing.
“The problem we have is just getting enough supply of land. If we can’t get more land, we can’t grow further.”
The Advantage Home Construction Insurance team has previously written about how making better use of brownfield land could potentially ease land supply issues in England, and Brownfield Land Wales 2019 will be returning to Cardiff on 3rd October to look an innovative ways to make the most effective use of brownfield sites.
We’ll be back soon with more news from the construction industry. In the meantime, thank you for reading!
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