North of England losing out on infrastructure investments, says top engineer

Unfulfilled pledges by the Government and exclusions by local authorities are preventing the North East of England’s infrastructure sector from sharing in the economic recovery now being seen elsewhere in the country, a civil engineering leader of the region says.

John Dickson, chairman of the Civil Engineering Contractors’ Association (North East), says: “If you compare the news from the South or Scotland with news from the North East of England the contrast is striking.

“Money for infrastructure improvements has been promised to the North East. But with very few exceptions it has yet to hit the ground. In the South and in Scotland, fellow CECA members are reporting full order books, growth and difficulties with recruitment.

“In the North East, where things undoubtedly feel better, that is probably because they have stopped getting worse. Growth remains a distant prospect.

Mr Dickson, at the annual dinner of CECA (North East) in Newcastle at the weekend, told members: “We can report wider recognition that construction is a key sector for growth. However, with the upturn in other regions, the national focus has moved from infrastructure to skills.

“In response, we are taking the message to national government that investment in skills in the North East is a great way of equipping our young people to find work - but in the South or in Scotland. We still need investment in the infrastructure here.”

He said public procurement of civil engineering projects is also causing concern in the North East.

“There have been many changes to public procurement practice and procedure over recent years,” he pointed out.

“Unfortunately, some of these changes have been less than successful. Sometimes it seems that our local authorities, in managing their supply chains, favour contractors and suppliers from outside the region. However innocent or unwitting this may be, it is not acceptable. CECA (North East) maintains close links with relevant local authorities and is in the forefront of raising this issue repeatedly with them.”

He said CECA’s national body has an enviable reputation for punching above its weight on national issues, and is represented on key industry bodies such as the CITB. But he warned: “CECA’s national organisation is currently facing real challenges relating to the apportionment of national income and cost, coupled with issues emanating from Scottish and Welsh devolution.

“The board of CECA (North East), I am pleased to report, has a clear vision for the future of the national organisation, and is working with our friends in CECA both in the North West and Yorkshire and Humberside to ensure that common sense prevails.”

He says that on the region’s focus on workload CECA (North East) is also working with its partners in the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Association for Consultancy and Engineering, to lobby national and local government for increased investment in the North East’s infrastructure.

Meanwhile CECA (North East) is planning a seminar to confront the problems on both fronts early in the new year. It hopes to bring together all parts of local government, with the local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) to refocus on the infrastructure work needing to be done, and to challenge national government to provide the funds required.

CECA (North East) states that while a revival in housebuilding is being widely acclaimed, that only accounts for some 25% of workload for the civil engineering industry.

Mr Dickson is chairman of Owen Pugh Group at Dudley, Northumberland, which last week announced record annual turnover of £32m and has recently entered the North East Top 200 list of companies for the first time. But operating profits for the group with a workforce of 370 have fallen 25%.