Small builders selling less than 10 homes a year, one in ten construction workers consider quitting over the state of on site toilets, and an architect wants to harness lava fields to build a city
Small builders are struggling to sell ten homes a year, claims research from Savills.
Larger developers have also seen sales fall to 0.4 units per week, prompting calls for the government to help first-time buyers get on the property ladder.
Expensive mortgage rates, higher stamp duty, and more recent issues such as inflation, war, and political upheaval have all knocked consumer confidence.
With many builders also facing rising building costs, “survival” is becoming increasingly difficult for firms, Savills warned.
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One in ten construction workers is considering quitting the industry over terrible on site toilets.
The survey of 600 workers found that 61% of women and 35% of men stopped drinking water while on site to avoid using the facilities.
Katy Robinson, who carried out the research, said it was a “huge concern” that workers were leaving the industry due to the state of the toilets.
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An architect in Iceland wants to harvest the vast lava fields to create construction materials.
The brainchild of Arnhildur Palmadottir, the project envisages using robots to gather molten lava to create prefabricated buildings.
She claims the idea has the potential to build a city within weeks, without the climate impact of traditional construction.
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