Builders out of pocket from continual bad weather

The South West Business Council said heavy machines were unable to move on the wet sites and workers were unsafe working at height in recent high winds

Bad weather in the region in recent months has cost the construction industry an estimated £70m, the South West Business Council (SWBC) has said.

The council's chief, Tim Jones, said ongoing rainfall and high winds had resulted in delays to building projects and self-employed builders being left out of pocket.

Heavy machines were unable to move on the wet sites and workers were unsafe working at height in recent high winds, he said.

A property services boss said his clients had lists of works for their properties that builders could not get to because of the adverse conditions.

'Causing havoc'

Mr Jones said the amount of rain and wind was "causing havoc with the construction industry at a really important time for a lot of major projects".

"Construction is a really important part of the South West economy, something like £13bn worth of activity every year, and we're calculating now that this unprecedented period has already cost about £70m," he added.

He said many people working in construction were self-employed, so if they could not work, they were not paid.

Clients and builders were losing out, he said, as although in some cases projects could be insured for delays the "insurance companies are pretty acute and are putting the premiums up as the weather gets worse".

Gareth Ford, owner of Peace of Mind Property Services in Liskeard, said the bad weather was "causing a lot of problems" for clients.

"There's a long list I imagine every builder's got, especially roofers, of jobs outstanding that you need dry weather for that you just can't get to," he said.