Maintenance and upgrade work on infrastructure has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade, confounding hopes that public spending could help the construction sector ride out the recession.

The decline, detailed in a report issued today by the RICS, comes in spite of a mild upturn in housebuilding workloads, the recent start to work on London’s Crossrail line and agreement to finance the long-delayed M25 widening programme.

However, the new figures show infrastructure workloads declining at the fastest rate since the RICS survey of the sector began in 1998. The number of surveyors reporting a fall in workloads was 34% greater than those reporting an increase, amid increasing financing problems.

Financial Times