The UK construction sector saw a significant rebound in June, with total contract awards rising 33% to £6.8bn - following a subdued performance in May.

The figures, published by Barbour ABI, show infrastructure led the recovery, bolstered by government’s Spending Review which set out plans to invest £275bn in public infrastructure over the next decade.

Infrastructure orders reached £2.2bn in June, the highest monthly total since February and a 125% increase from the previous month. Rather than being driven by a single flagship scheme, the growth was underpinned by a number of high-value projects across the sector.

Approvals also surged, up 113% in June, driven in part by the Ossian Offshore Wind Farm.

Planning applications increased by 22%, boosted by two major battery storage schemes in the West Midlands with a combined value of £210m.

Ed Griffiths, chief analyst at Barbour ABI. “Given how heavily infrastructure featured in the review, all eyes will be on whether this marks the beginning of a sustained period of growth.”

In contrast, the residential sector continues to underperform. Awards increased by just 5% in June to £1.7bn, remaining below the 2024 monthly average.

The highest-value residential scheme was a £125m mixed-use project on Chalk Farm Road in London, comprising student accommodation, private flats and commercial space. The prominence of such schemes reflects a continued reliance on projects outside traditional social housing targets to sustain volumes.

New residential applications fell sharply in May, down 33% from the previous month.

“There are signs of future momentum for high-rise residential, particularly with responsibility for the Building Safety Regulator now sitting directly under DLUHC (the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities),” said Griffiths. “This could help accelerate progress on schemes delayed by post-Grenfell safety requirements. Our data shows some projects delayed by up to nine months, likely due to the impact of the Building Safety Act.”

Griffiths also pointed to recent announcements from government that could boost the sector: “The deputy prime minister’s £39bn investment plan to deliver 300,000 social homes is encouraging, but as ever, targets and delivery are two very different things. Whether the UK has the capacity to build at this scale remains an open question.”

The total value of planning approvals rose 34% in June to £10.92. However, the value of new applications fell by 19% to £7.2bn compared to April, highlighting ongoing uncertainty in some areas of the market.