UK brickmakers have warned that thousands of manufacturing jobs could be at risk as weak housebuilding leaves an estimated 500mn bricks sitting unused in factory yards and depots.
The stockpile would be sufficient to build about 50,000 average-sized homes, according to the GMB union, which is calling on the government to accelerate construction as the industry struggles with falling demand.
The warning comes as Wienerberger, Britain’s largest brick manufacturer, prepares to mothball its Hartlebury plant in Worcestershire. GMB said other producers, including Ibstock and Forterra, had also announced job cuts.
The problems facing brickmakers reflect the continued weakness of UK housebuilding. Official government data show seasonally adjusted brick deliveries in Great Britain fell 16.3 per cent in June compared with a year earlier and were down 11.1 per cent from May.
Separate Office for National Statistics figures showed private new housing construction fell 4.9 per cent in July alone, adding to concerns over the pace of residential development.
The slowdown poses a challenge to the government’s ambition to enable the construction of 1.5mn homes in England during this parliament. Ministers have introduced planning reforms and funding measures intended to increase housing supply, but translating those policies into new construction remains a significant challenge.
Industry workers raised the issue at the Trades Union Congress in Brighton on Monday, warning that prolonged weakness could erode the domestic manufacturing capacity needed if housebuilding subsequently accelerates.
Lewis Parmenter, a brickworker and GMB member, said his factory had experienced six shutdowns during the past three years.
“Without spades in the ground to build the homes we need, our industry will collapse and eight thousand jobs will go, including mine,” he said.
Parmenter argued that the economics facing manufacturers were straightforward.
“If we don’t build the homes, then the bricks don’t get sold. They just sit there in the yards,” he said.
The union warned that further plant closures could have wider consequences for communities dependent on brickmaking and leave the construction industry with less domestic production capacity when housing demand recovers.
