Midlands lags behind in government construction project stakes – KPMG
THE Midlands is lagging behind in fourth place when it comes to the allocation for UK Government construction projects, according to a new report.
Accountancy and advisory firm KPMG’s UK Government Construction Pipeline shows that the value of the region’s pipeline allocation sits behind that of national, South and North projects.
The Midlands has 445 projects within the UK Government’s construction pipeline. This equates to 20% of the total pipeline. However, the combined value of these projects comes in at only 9%, with £10.9bn allocated out of a total £118.7bn.
The breakdown within the Midlands is West Midlands £3.2bn (179 projects), East Midlands £2.2bn (161 projects), East of England – £5.5bn (105 projects).
However, the picture is somewhat improved when considering the impact of certain national projects on the region, such as the investment set aside for HS2, some of which will effectively be ‘spent’ within the Midlands.
The analysis shows that ten sectors have committed funding in the Midlands, with transport, police forces, education and health with the highest allocated funding by sector.
Ministry of Defence and Justice comprise of 224 projects (50% of the region’s pipeline), with a combined allocated value of £1bn.
Of the remainder there are 30 education projects included with a total allocated value of £1.1bn, 24 health projects with committed funding of £1bn, 62 transport projects with an allocated value of £5.5bn and 88 police force projects with a value of £1.8bn.
Of the total 445 Midlands projects, some 339 do not have a stated construction start date, which accounts for 32% of the total pipeline value.
This could raise questions about the completeness of the data. Nationally, some 1,784 projects did not specify a construction start date.
Mike Froom, partner for infrastructure, building and construction in the Midlands at KPMG, said: “We have had under investment in infrastructure in the Midlands for too many years now and the frustration of projects not reaching fruition continues with the number of potential projects removed from the pipeline.
“Whilst we have seen great examples of businesses growing in the region by expanding their penetration in overseas markets we need government to recognise that the region needs better infrastructure – particularly with regards to transport.
“The opening of Grand Central in Birmingham this weekend shows the impact that investment in transport can have, both on infrastructure itself, but also on the profile and reputation of a city and region.”
