The UK construction industry has been one of the major losers from Brexit according to the president of Dundee Institute of Architects.
Ian Muir is also a director of chartered architect Muir Walker Pride based in St Andrews.
He said the departure from the EU has contributed to massive rises in the cost of materials, product scarcity and not enough skilled workers.
Mr Muir said: “With Brexit, there has been an unprecedented increase in construction costs of 40% from pre-pandemic levels.
“Increases in costs of building materials such as timber, plasterboard, insulation products and steel have contributed to a challenging construction environment.
“There have been shortages of materials, as many building materials are imported due to lack of locally-manufactured products.
“Delivery times are also prone to a greater degree of unpredictability, often leading to project time overruns.”
Skilled workers leaving Britain
Mr Muir also said Brexit has seen workers from Europe return home.
Many others in the 50-65 age range took early retirement as a result of the pandemic.
The architect said the shortage of skilled workers has had a serious impact on the breadth of work contractors are able to do. This, he said, has driven up labour costs.
He added: “From a wider Brexit perspective, there is now no reciprocity of recognition for our architectural qualifications in the EU.
“Whilst most of our members work locally, this does means that opportunities to work abroad are restricted.”
“It also makes it more difficult to recruit and attract staff from Europe.
“There are now also elaborate rules and costly procedures for hiring any EU citizen in the UK.”
Energy efficiency drive
The Dundee Institute of Architects (DIA) is one of six chapters of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland.
It represents an area stretching from Anstruther in the east to Loch Earn in the west, and Glenrothes in the south to Blair Atholl in the north.
Mr Muir was elected president in 2020.
In a more positive outlook for the sector, he said architects were well placed to advise people on energy efficiency.
He said the climate emergency and rising energy costs are now driving the need to address poor insulation standards.
“The great majority of all buildings in Scotland have very low energy-efficiency standards,” he said.
“Architects can advise on the most efficient way to upgrade insulation values of properties and the options for alternative environmentally-sensitive energy sources as government seeks to phase out gas heating.”
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