Latest figures from Glenigan show residential project starts were 5% down, non-residential projects 6% up and civil engineering projects 18% down.

Regionally the East of England performed best, while the South East and North West suffered the largest falls.

Private housing project starts declined nationally in the three months to October following the rapid recovery earlier this year.

Social housing project starts also fell. “Private housing is forecast to recover by the end of 2010 but social housing will remain under pressure” commented James Abraham, economist, Glenigan.

He said: “The major supermarket chains continued to drive growth in private sector non-residential construction. Hotel & leisure, industrial and office project starts also increased in the three months to October.

“The impact of Government spending has already been seen in health and community & amenity construction. However, there is a strong pipeline of community & amenity projects due to start on site.

“Education project starts increased in the three months to October, but are set to decline following the cancellation of the Building Schools for the Future programme.”

Civil engineering project starts fell dramatically in the three months to October. The rise in utility projects could not counter the lack of infrastructure work.

Looking ahead Mr Abraham said: “The outlook for civil engineering is better than may have been expected given that the Department of Transport’s budget was saved from large scale cuts in last month’s Comprehensive Spending Review”.