Survey indicates that local tradespeople are upbeat about state of industry

According to a survey conducted by the Independent Builders Merchants Group (IBMG), which includes RGB Building Supplies, tradespeople across Cornwall and Devon are optimistic about the industry, despite the rise in inflation affecting the price of building materials and the cost of living crisis impacting workload. 

The survey of self-employed tradespeople and small to medium-sized companies highlighted that there is plenty of building work taking place, with 83% of respondents confirming they have ‘too much or more than usual’ or ‘a manageable amount’ of work in the pipeline. Only 2% had no projects planned for the next six months. 

Homeowners looking at ways they can reduce the cost of energy bills may be having some impact on this steady amount of work, as 43% of tradespeople indicated that enquiries for energy efficiency measures, such as insulation, have increased.

There are some concerns though, as 72% of respondents confirmed the cost of living crisis was having some effect on their business. Just under two thirds of the tradespeople also said that the price of materials is impacting their workloads; however, 69% said they are confident that the need for their services would continue – only one in ten believed business would be worse in the next 12-18 months. 

Jenny Naylor, Managing Director of RGB Building Supplies, commented: “The survey indicated that the services of tradespeople across Cornwall and Devon is very much required, with four out of five saying that in comparison to previous years, the demand for their work had increased or not changed. 

“Despite the negativity that is often reported about the state of the construction sector nationally, there seems to be a different story for building work across our area, with the regional industry remaining steady, withstanding economic instability and keeping local tradespeople busy.”

IBMG will be surveying local tradespeople again later in the year to see how the industry is reacting to the changing economic climate. 

There were 649 respondents to the survey, 131 of whom were from Cornwall and Devon. All respondents were construction industry businesses with 50 or fewer employees.