Builders lay foundations to cope with Covid-19 and Brexit

As if a pandemic and the prospect of Brexit at the end of the year isn’t enough to contend with, extreme weather caused by climate change is wreaking havoc on Scotland’ s creaking national infrastructure.

A recent report by the Institution of Civil Engineers Scotland ( Ice Scotland) highlighted a number of climate-driven incidents causing damage to roads, rail and property that have taken place in 2020.

It also warned these would continue to have an increasingly devastating impact on Scotland ’s infrastructure unless measures to mitigate them were made urgently.

Events cited by Ice Scotland included the fatal rail derailment south of Stonehaven in which a landslide due to heavy rain was a suspected contributing factor.

Other disasters included the repeated wipeout of the Rest and Be Thankful, the highest point of the A83 in Argyll and a key route to the Kintyre Peninsula, Islay and Jura.

According to Ice Scotland, every day the route is closed costs the Scottish economy £55,000. Repair works in August and September this year lasted for five weeks, with infrastructure users facing up to a 60-mile detour.

The engineering body’s report, State of the Nation, called for the implementation of a taskforce to oversee Scotland’s existing infrastructure and make sure it has sufficient investment to withstand climate change.

The Scottish Government’s recent draft infrastructure investment plan, launched in September, is not all new money but lists around £24 billion of major projects nearing completion or ready to start.

They include investments in low- carbon heating , housing and forestry, and a doubling of the budget for road and bridge repairs to £1.5bn.

Another report, from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), warned there needs to be a “more coherent infrastructure strategy” from the government to support the construction industry’s recovery from Covid-19 measures.

The quarterly Rics report revealed workloads in the sector had made a recovery in the third quarter, compared to the previous three months, when the economy and many building sites were in shutdown.

But when compared with the industry average from a year ago, Q3 workloads were substantially down and “far from full recovery”.

Rics chief economist Simon Rubinsohn said: “These are clearly very challenging times for the economy.

“Government’ s commitment (UK level) to delivering on its infrastructure programme provides a ray of light, with the survey pointing towards a solid increase in workloads over the next 12 months which could play an important role in helping to drive a wider recovery in business activity.”

He added: “The private residential sector is also expected to see solid growth, aided by the various policy initiatives that are still in play. However, commercial development is anticipated as being flatter in the face of the structural pressures facing both offices and retail.”

Housebuilders will also be expected to support the Scottish Government to meet net-zero carbon ambitions.

Stephen Kelso, group product design manager for Cala Homes and chairman of Homes for Scotland’ s technical committee, said: “We have a long-term commitment to achieving a net operational carbon-zero product and, while we are driven to create a solid road map for delivery over the coming years, we recognise how much this links to wider infrastructure requirements for a sustainable future.

“To that end we have put in place pioneering measures such as utilities calculators and monitoring stations on some of our developments, to provide

data which supports our net-zero carbon commitment and ties in with that wider infrastructure.

“We’ re also trialling solutions such as air source heat pumps and infrared technology on a selection of our north of Scotland sites.”

One bright spot for the construction industry has been the housing market, which bounced back after Covid restrictions were removed.

According to the Office for National Statistics, construction grew by nearly 3% between July and September, helped by the post-lockdown housing market pick-up.

Since Scotland returned

from full lockdown earlier this year, Banchory firm Bancon Homes has seen strong demand for its new homes across the north east.

Ban con managing director Allan Clow said: “This increase has been driven by pent-up demand, with buyers unable to move during the lockdown and customers now craving more indoor and outdoor space.

“Home working has been a major factor in this drive as employees look to change their lifestyles, and those of their families.

“Gardens, and particularly south-facing ones, have also become very important, as they have become much more of

an entertaining space for families.

“Working from home has also removed the need for the daily office commute, so buyers are now prepared to move to properties in a rural location which is something they might not have considered before.”

Cala Homes( North) managing director Mike Naysmith said: “The initial wave of pent-up demand following lockdown gave us a strong period of sales, and we are still seeing high levels of interest through website inquiries and sales office appointments.

“This is encouraging and shows people are beginning to build confidence when it comes to big decisions like a house move.”

Digging in... Builders such as Mike Naysmith of Cala Homes are enjoying a rise in demand after Scotland’s emergence from full lockdown.