How to control building costs amid supply shortages and price hikes

17th June 2021

Matt Sanders

Building projects across the UK are being hit by a shortage of materials and sharp rises in costs, leading to potential delays to projects, including the building of new sports facilities.

The Sport and Play Construction Association is the latest organisation to highlight the issue, following concerns from the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) and the Federation of Master Builders about the availability and cost of a range of products and materials that are essential to UK construction projects.

In a recent statement, the CLC said most of the shortages of products and raw materials impacting the market have been driven by both global and domestic supply and demand factors, in particular relating to timber, steel, pitched roofing, plastics and paints/coatings.

Global demand for steel remains extremely high and last month British Steel advised it had temporarily stopped taking orders for structural steel sections.

Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics projects a rise of 7-8 per cent in material prices, with increases for certain materials, such as timber, expected to more than double during the course of the year.

All of this makes for depressing reading if you have a sports project planned. It’s likely that not only will your project be delayed while your builders wait for critical materials to arrive, but the cost of the build may also increase significantly during the course of the project as demand for scarce resources soars.

Happily, we can protect our customers from these increasing lead times and price rises. Our partner Sprung Structures, which is located in Canada, has a staggering 200,000 sq m of building materials stored at its two facilities. With all the materials needed to create a bespoke tensioned membrane sports building already held in stock, they can ship the materials in three to four weeks from the date of order. Add four weeks shipping time to the UK and work could begin on your new sports building in just eight weeks. The 40ft shipping containers arrive to site containing everything needed to construct your sports building, including all of the specialist tools. We even ship over an expert from the Canadian office to oversee the development and ensure the project goes without a hitch – it really is the faster and smarter way to build.

And because all the materials are already in stock, there are no nasty surprises when it comes to costs. In fact, the price you are quoted when you place your order and pay your deposit won’t change at all. So, you can be assured of a high performance sports building with a lifespan of 30-35 years at the original price you were quoted, regardless of all the disruption and delay being experienced elsewhere in the UK construction industry. 

These unprecedented times for the construction sector come at a time when sports facilities are needed more than ever. If the Covid pandemic has taught us anything, it is the vital role that sport and physical activity facilities play in the nation’s mental and physical health. Keeping control of sports building projects, so they can be delivered on time and on budget, has never been more critical.