AUDIO NEWS: Construction activity falls again in August and builders create hanging baskets

Construction purchasing managers' report a drop in activity, Steve Reed is the new Housing Secretary and builders beautify site with hanging baskets

Construction buyers have reported another drop in building activity in August.

S&P Global’s purchasing managers index indicates that workloads have continued to drop, particularly across residential and civil engineering.

Civil engineering was the weakest performing sector, with survey respondents complaining about a lack of new projects to replace completed work.

Total new orders across construction dropped for the eighth month in a row.

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Steve Reed has taken over as the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, following the resignation of Angela Rayner last week.

Despite several high-profile announcements by Rayner to get 'Britain building again', such as proposed planning reforms, market recovery has yet to materialise.

According to the Federation of Master Builders, the appointment of Reed must signal a renewed drive by the government to deliver its stated target of 1.5 million new homes.

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Builders have spruced up a construction site in Nottinghamshire by turning old hard hats in hanging baskets.

Work to a culvert in Woodborough transformed part of the high street into a building site. 

But workers from Jackson Civil Engineering partnered with the locals to beautify the area.

Ravi Darigala, a regional director from Jackson said he “got a nice shout out from a passer-by,” which was “much nicer than the usual comments”, he added.

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