AUDIO NEWS: Builder confidence remains high claims FMB and plumber gets stuck in a shopping centre

Nearly three quarters of small builders are feeling upbeat about the market, a plumber gets locked in at a shopping centre and Lighthouse Charity raises £270,000 for construction families

A poll from the Federation of Master Builders claims that confidence remains high among small builders, despite the ongoing downturn in industry output.

In the survey of 169 small house builders, nearly three quarters reported strong buyer demand, and 69% said they planned to expand their workforce.

However, barriers to growth remain, with nine out of 10 complaining about rising costs and nearly half citing planning bottlenecks as the single biggest constraint on growth.

Brian Berry, chief executive with the FMB said the research illustrated that small builders were seeing demand and were ready to respond.

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An Oxfordshire plumber went viral on TikTok after getting locked-in a shopping centre.

Tom Wynn had been working late fixing a sink at Bicester village, but when he and his co-worker came to leave, they found the gates locked and nobody around to let them out.

After trekking around the shopping centre three times, and considering climbing the gates to escape, they eventually found somebody to let them out.

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The Lighthouse Charity raised £270,000 for construction families at a recent annual charity event.

Nearly 1,000 guests from around the industry attended the afternoon, which included appearances from Paralympian Kadeena Cox, rugby world cup winner Phil Vickery and former electrician turned football legend Stuart Pearce.

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