BRITISH BUILDING

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 49, 4 July 1947, Page 6

BRITISH BUILDING

APRIL ALMOST RECORD A remarkably rapid recovery from the setback due to the unprecedented weather conditions in January and February had been made by Britain’s builders. Severe and prolonged frosts, with heavy snowfalls followed by widespread flooding, brought Work on housing to a standstill for several weeks. But the official returns for Apriljust published show that the number of permanent homes completed in that month was only 279 short of the figure recorded for December, which was highest monthly total since the postwar building programme was initiated. During April 14,667 houses were built, of which well over 9000 were permanent, and practically 5000 temporary. These figures compare with the previous month’s total of just under 9000 houses completed.. Accommodation was found for nearly 20,000 families, while the labour used for building was increased by 1000 workers. Production of building materials also showed an equally noteworthy recovery. This particularly applies to the output of cement and bricks. Cement rose from 366,000 tons in March to 601,000 tons in April. Comparative figures for bricks over the same period are 275,000,000 increasing to 349,000,000. Plasterboard production was the highest this year, while the manufacture of drainpipes and plaster gypseous also showed large expansion. The grand total of new houses in Britain ready for occupation by the end of April was just short of 195,000, of which nearly 88,000 are permanent and 107,000 temporary.