Prop-arazzi

Northern Ireland’s Construction & Property Group issued a fresh warning to MLAs returning to Stormont today (1.30pm) to put their differences aside and urgently work together to save thousands of workers from losing their jobs by Christmas.

In a major step-up for its campaign, members of the group, who represent hundreds of developers, builders, contractors and suppliers left devastated by the property downturn, told Assembly members that there was little time left to act.

Construction & Property Group spokesman Brendan Cunnane said:

“This industry is in chaos.

Workers from right across Northern Ireland already have soaring fuel, food and mortgage bills to worry about and this grim fear that their jobs could disappear by the New Year is making their plight even more unbearable. It’s time to stop burying our heads in the sand and do something.

We told MLAs they have a key part to play in putting together a clear and simple action plan that will safeguard livelihoods. But we also had to tell them of our fear that the local banks will scupper this important collaborative process by not coming on board.

Given the vast levels of funding that has been provided by the banks to builders and developers until the latter part of last year their continuing reluctance to engage constructively with their customers is astonishing. One local bank has advised the group that its exposure to the residential property market is in the region of £1 billion.  

It’s important that the Assembly understands just how much we need and depend on a viable, productive construction industry and I believe that by taking our fight straight to Stormont, MLAs will take our message on board.”

The Construction & Property Group said its members had already been forced to lay off more than 2,500 staff since the downturn got under way a year ago. It believes this figure will double by Christmas if efforts are not made to stabilise the market.

The Construction & Property Group was created following a series of public meetings during July, bringing together developers, builders, contractors, suppliers and others affected by the crippling downturn currently facing the residential property market.

The group constitutes a cross section of property development and construction industries across Northern Ireland and has also drawn interest from a number of professional services that supply and advise the property sector.

The organisation is urging all the major financial institutions to ensure that affordable mortgages are available, particularly to first-time buyers, and is calling for an urgent review of the Comprehensive Spending Review by the Executive to ensure social housing investment and shared equity schemes are more widely available.

Committee Room 144 Parliament Buildings, Stormont at 1.30pm.

Contact Weber Shandwick Belfast for further details

NEW PROPERTY GROUP CALLS FOR ACTION PLAN FROM BANKS

The newly-formed Construction & Property Group is calling on banks in Northern Ireland to engage in urgent discussions with the property sector and government to produce an agreed action plan aimed at injecting life into the local economy.

The group, which continues to recruit members from across the North, is to hold its biggest meeting yet in Cookstown on Wednesday August 20 and will be urging immediate involvement from Northern Ireland’s main lenders in its bid to protect the thousands of jobs at risk from the marked downturn in the construction and property sector.

Construction & Property Group spokesperson Brendan Cunnane said the organisation already had over 70 members from across Northern Ireland and that new members were signing up every day.

According to Mr Cunnane:

“The Executive is now beginning to engage with the problem and at a local level banks are showing a willingness to work with the constriction sector. But what is really needed is a clear action plan that is plain for everyone to see and which has the full support of the banks as well as government.

Over the past three weeks another 500 jobs have gone in the sector and many believe there is worse to come. This is not just affecting builders and developers. Suppliers are now making staff redundant as are solicitors, architects and estate agents.

Urgent action is needed to prevent total market failure”.

The Construction and Property Group is calling for
• A  commitment from all the major financial institutions that they will not take any steps which would further destabilise the market;
• Local financial institutions to reintroduce liquidity into the market by ensuring that affordable mortgages are available, particularly to first time buyers;
• The reintroduction, and adequate funding, of co-ownership by the Executive;
• An urgent review of the comprehensive spending review by the Executive to improve availability of social housing and shared equity schemes
The Construction & Property Group, which holds its second major gathering at the Glenaven Hotel in Cookstown on Wednesday 20th August, was created following a series of public meetings during July, bringing together developers, builders, contractors, suppliers and those involved in the professional services affected by the crisis in the residential construction sector.

The group is now looking to increase its membership and is calling on those involved in the construction industry across Northern Ireland to join the group.

 The next meeting of the Construction & Property Group will take place at the Glenavon Hotel, Cookstown on Wednesday 20th August 2008 at 7.30pm.  Please contact Weber Shandwick Northern Ireland on 028 90 347 304 if you require a membership form before the event.

NI CONSTRUCTION & PROPERTY JOBS PLUNGE

The number of workers employed within Northern Ireland’s residential construction industry plunged by around 70 per cent in the year to end-June, according to the results of an indicative survey carried out by the Construction & Property Group.

The powerful new industry body, set up in response to the ongoing crisis in the construction sector, said a poll of 50 of its member companies shows that more than 1,550 jobs have been lost among them since June 2007.

Brendan Cunnane, the Secretary / Treasurer of the Construction & Property Group said today:

“The results of our straw poll show just how serious the situation has become. Using our figures, we believe that tens of thousands of jobs have already disappeared or they are most certainly at risk. We have reached a position where building on many sites across the province has completely ground to a halt. This is having a major impact on the local economy and it is imperative that all participants in the sector act collectively to get this key area of the local economy moving again.

“Otherwise there is a real fear that there will be total market failure in Northern Ireland and a sustained period of recession. In particular we are asking the Assembly, Executive and the local banks as key enablers in the sector to work with us and resolve these issues by finding a zone of possible agreement to move forward.”

“We need to urgently seek a solution to inject life back into the sector and restore employment and market confidence.”

The Construction & Property Group was created following a series of public meetings during July, bringing together developers, builders, contractors, suppliers and those involved in the professional services affected by the crisis in the residential construction sector.

Its main goal is to highlight the turmoil in the property and construction sectors and to engage with the Assembly and Executive and to work in collaboration with the major banks to introduce liquidity into the housing market to avert total market failure.

The group constitutes a cross section of the property development and construction industries across Northern Ireland and has also drawn interest from a number of professional services that supply and advise the property sector.

Since its inception the group’s meetings have been attended by over 400 individuals representing some of the largest and well know property development and construction companies in Northern Ireland.

Brendan Cunnane said:

“It is critical that everyone involved in the house building sector pull together to seek a way out of this crisis. We are seeking to avoid further turbulence and we have proposals which we would like to discuss with the elected representatives and the banks that have the potential to correct the market and set it on an even keel.

These include:

• A  commitment from all the major financial institutions that they will not take any steps which would further destabilise the market;
• A serious effort being made by the local financial institutions to reintroduce liquidity into the market by ensuring that affordable mortgages are available, particularly to first time buyers;
• The reintroduction, and adequate funding, of co-ownership by the Executive;
• An urgent review of the comprehensive spending review by the Executive to ensure social housing investment and shared equity schemes are more available to low income house seekers.
The group is now looking to increase its membership and is calling on those involved in the construction industry across Northern Ireland to join the group.

A delegation from the group recently met with the Assembly’s Enterprise, Trade and Investment Committee and has also held meetings with representatives from all the major parties.