Northern Powerhouse

Our new report paints a detailed picture of where, and in which industries, modern Britain is building; following recent reports of a £72 billion construction boom in the last 20 years.

Manchester is very much at the epicentre of this growth, with 9,127 new development plans applied for in the last three years. This trend is closely followed by other districts in Northern England, including Leeds, Salford, Liverpool and Wigan – reflecting growing confidence in the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ concept. 

The main driving force behind this development surge is new housing. In the last five years, the value of constructed housing has doubled. Tower Hamlets officially records the largest rise in new homes - with a 14% upturn between 2010 and 2017 - followed by Corby (11%).

Flats are the fastest growing type of new housing to be built in recent years and now account for almost a quarter (22%) of British residential properties. Detached houses have also seen growth of four per cent in the last five years.

Across England and Wales, the top 15 local authorities with the highest share of properties as flats are all in Greater London. In the City of London, a staggering 98% of residential properties are flats. However, towns and cities on the south coast also feature highly – for example, half of properties in Brighton and Hove and Bournemouth are flats.

Many other construction sectors have benefitted from a sizable building boom in the last five years, including office spaces (a 92% increase), schools and universities (35%) and entertainment venues (62%), ranging from theatres to bowling alleys.

Head of our address management unit, Steve Rooney, said: ‘As we deliver to over 30 million addresses across the UK, our “Not Yet Built” database is notified of any new building developments – either business or residential. I hope we’ll be delivering to most – if not all – of these fledgling properties in years to come.’