Cemex mothballed the plant last year in the face of falling demand and what seemed a bleak medium-term outlook for construction.

The move is further evidence of growing confidence in construction as the recovery starts to gather pace.

Rising demand from house builders has already created brick and block shortages after production capacity was severely cutback in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

In response rival heavyside materials giant Hanson has reopened several brick plants and moved to double shift patterns.