Hays Montrose reports plenty of multi-million pound projects and buoyancy set to stay
In Bristol alone there are a variety of major construction projects. The £100m Port Marine development is a five-year residential expansion of the town, Portishead and a £90m redevelopment of the former Courage Brewery site will see two listed buildings being converted into luxury apartments and offices. The £70m Capricorn Quay project is a mixture of retail and luxury apartments on the riverfront, and in the city centre there is a £9m refurbishment of the Dingles department store and a new Holiday Inn hotel. With the glut of housing and residential projects underway tradesmen, site engineers and foremen are particularly in demand.

Cheltenham and Gloucester are just as busy according to consultant Grant Bailey. He says: "There are several major programmes in the area, including the £35m Gloucester Royal Hospital project, the new British Energy Centre, and the continued £300m GCHQ project in Cheltenham."

He adds: "In Gloucestershire a large number of housing developments are underway with major developers including Bellway, Barratts and Bryant and because of this site managers, foremen and labouring trades and CITB ticketed drivers are sought after. Gloucester has a lot of potential especially as it has a variety of greenfield sites and is just off Junction 11/11a on the M5 so is in easy commuting distance of Bristol and Birmingham as well as London."

Selin Saka, manager of the Hays Montrose Plymouth office says that she has never seen the construction industry as busy as it is today. She says: "There is a lot of investment and European funding in the region, especially in Cornwall with PFI projects for schools totalling £35m. Millions are being spent on road improvement schemes and there is the £1.5m Maritime Museum at Falmouth. "A recent trend in Devon and Cornwall has been the increase in salaries. Selin says: "Two years ago if anyone thought about relocating to this part of the country they would be looking to cut their salary by between £5,000 and £10,000. Salaries have now risen and closed the gap with the rest of the country."