Jones Bros comments on gloomy Welsh construction forecast

Jones Bros has responded to a report predicting that Wales’ beleaguered construction sector will continue to shrink in 2012.

The Construction Skills Network report forecasts that output from the sector in Wales will contract by a further 0.4 per cent in the coming year, with no return to growth until 2013.
Jones Bros managing director Huw Jones told the Western Mail newspaper: “The outlook for Welsh construction industry is clearly uncertain.

“Public sector work is less abundant than it was, owing to the squeeze on local authority and Welsh Government budgets. This looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.
“We do a lot of work in energy and renewables, for example building infrastructure for wind farms. This is one area where planning is a major problem in Wales, unlike in Scotland where we see much more opportunity.

“Jones Bros is proud to be a Welsh company. However, the lack of infrastructure investment in Wales is leading us to look elsewhere for new opportunities.

“For example, we opened our second Scottish office last year and also opened a base in Oxfordshire, from where we are handling a raft of waste management and recycling contracts.
“Forward-thinking construction and civil engineering firms in Wales are being left with no option but to look to new geographical markets in order to achieve growth.”