Deloitte Crane Survey Shows Manchester Still Booming

The construction sector as a whole has endured something of a weak period over the last few months, with survey data suggesting overall output has contracted. But some parts of the UK are defying the national trend.

Greater Manchester is, not for the first time in recent years, demonstrating plenty of resilience despite tricky wider conditions, Deloitte’s Manchester Crane Survey 2024 has revealed.

It noted that while Glenigan’s October 2023 Index of Construction had shown a 30 per cent fall in activity in October compared with a year before, Manchester and Salford remained close to normal, with 21 schemes starting in 2023 compared with the five-year average of 22.

A key feature of the survey was that while office building grew by only small amounts – only in the central core of Manchester did it exceed residential construction – the residential sector is booming.

Central Salford epitomises this trend, representing the highest volume of new builds. But this is no longer taking place at scale just in the very centres of the two cities, notwithstanding the visually-imposing residential skyscrapers rising there, but also in surrounding areas.

Indeed, this has been the case for several years, with the survey highlighting the “significant focus on strategic regeneration areas and underutilised sites away from the city core”.

Anyone familiar with the area will be able to testify that this is so, with so many new developments meaning it is not possible to be a regular visitor to the area and not notice the changing cityscapes.

All that means anyone investing in a waterproof rain suit to deal with Manchester’s damp climate could get plenty of use in it, as the area remains very busy and may do even better in 2024 and 2025, when the survey predicts a pick-up in office construction.

Those wearing such garments might be envied by football fans at one of Manchester’s most famous locations, but they could soon be worn by construction workers there – or at an adjacent site.

Old Trafford Football Ground’s leaky roof has been a symbol of the decline of Manchester United on and off the pitch and while new part-owner Sir Jim Radcliffe’s Ineos Group is about to take over the football side of the business, it is not just a new team that will be built over the coming years.

The billionaire has been in talks with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham about the future of the venue, and it has been widely reported that consideration is being given to two options, either of which would involve a huge construction project; a gradual redevelopment of the current stadium, or a rebuild on adjacent land owned by the club.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the latter option involves the ambition to build a “Wembley of the North”, holding 90,000 fans and representing the most modern design and facilities for players, spectators and other venue users.

The existing stadium was constructed in 1910, the club having moved there from Bank Street in Clayton, a site close to rivals Manchester City’s present-day home, the Etihad Stadium.