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The South East consists of the following Counties: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle Of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Sussex.

After difficult years in 2008 and 2009, the South East saw little improvement last year: the underlying value of work starting in 2010 fell by 17%. This was due to weakness in almost every section of the region’s construction industry, and non-residential sectors in particular. However, 2011 has brought a reversal of fortune as the South East is forecasted to be the UK’s fastest growing region due to a second half surge.

During 2010, an exception to an otherwise difficult year was a nearly 50% increase in the underlying value of retail projects. However, the rise comes off of a low base; in total, underlying starts were over a third less than they were in 2007. Retail has continued to surge over 2011 so far.

While underlying civil engineering project starts grew just 8% in 2010, several large projects brought the sector increased optimism. The most notable of these a £210m project to refurbish the A421 in Buckinghamshire which started in October 2010, and will support construction throughout this year. Over the first nine months of this year, this performance has improved markedly. There has also been an increase in the value of civil engineering planning approvals over this period, and we expect it to remain a growth sector next year.

Underlying value of construction projects starting on site. (Excludes individual projects of more than £100 million and framework agreements).

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