Everything A Warehouse For A Large Building Site Needs

Almost everyone agrees that the UK needs to build more homes, although there are always plenty of arguments about exactly where they should be built. But with a new government place, there is a renewed determination to ‘get Britain building’, with a target for 1.5 million homes to be built in this parliament.

Some of that is about changing planning law, such as reclassifying ‘low quality’ green belt land as ‘grey belt’, but further measures are planned, with deputy prime minister Angela Raynor announcing the launch of a new expert group called the Home Delivery Accelerator, which has the task of kick-starting work at 200 stalled construction sites.

Ms Raynor said: “Our New Homes Accelerator will quickly identify blockages, fix problems and support local authorities and developers to get shovels in the ground.” The body will be made up of experts from the Ministry of Housing and Homes England.

However, an upturn in construction is only possible with physical resources behind it. That means having the workforce, the materials and somewhere to storm, as well as heavy duty racking to bear the weight when they are in storage.

All those bricks, bags of mortar, breeze blocks, paint and so much else do not appear by magic. Even on-site they need to be stored somewhere safe and dry, where they cannot be disturbed, damaged, spilled, or contaminated.

Before they can be brought to the site, however, they need to be manufactured and stored ahead of time. That means warehouses stocking materials will be needed in reasonable proximity, either by establishing new facilities or using existing space where it is available.

It is in such a warehouse that heavy duty racks will be required to deal with the heavier material. While wood is light and breeze blocks are not too heavy, bricks are another matter and some kinds of natural stone, are still favoured for homes in many rural settings, even more so.

Because many of the materials will be harder and heavier than many other items that are commonly stored in warehouses, staff will also need to be well trained to deal with and eliminate the extra safety risks involved, for example, if a pallet of bricks should topple over or a steel frame fall.

Above all, the need for staff, training and shelving could all increase if the UK really is to raise its levels of housebuilding in line with the needs of the population.

Construction activity may be rebounding anyway, given the positive figures for the sector in the most recent survey data showing activity growing at its fastest rate in over two years.

Add to that the encouragement of easing inflation, faster economic growth and the first of what may be several interest rate cuts to encourage mortgage lending and construction firms may be very busy indeed. Any extra government support, such as planning law changes and intervention to restart stalled schemes will add to growth that is already set to happen.

What constructors need alongside this is the warehouse facilities to support their efforts, ensuring the capacity is there to support a surge in building while not compromising on safety or risking damage to the stored products.

For more information on Everything A Warehouse For A Large Building Site Needs talk to UK Shelving Ltd