The building trade outlook is far from encouraging on the civil side. The April plans approved showed a decline of 85 per cent. on the year, the figure being £7,531,300, against £8,234,800 in April, 1938. These gures ate not, however, fully representative. They exclude Government contracts, L.C.C. and rural work and, in all, probably account for only 40 per cent of the total building activity of the country, Yet it cannot be ignored that, in the first four months of the current year, the dwelling house approvals have fallen by over 9 per cent, to £18,605,000, Political uncertainly continues to hold up private building of houses and flats and public building where not essential to furtherance of the arms programme, It is, therefore, fortunate for the building trades that large contracts have been, and are being, placed for arms factories, A.R.P. shelters and protective works, aerodromes and barracks, and houses for workers in ed armament establishments.
Thus the Civil Defence Bill works are expected to involve an expenditure of some £80,000,000 a year, while the Army. Navy and Air Force estimates for 1939-40 call for works and build-the Japanese authorities protests which are ignored or treated with polite indifference.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.