The economic landscape has changed significantly since the Association completed its winter forecasts at the end of last year. As a result economic growth this year is expected to be much lower than originally forecast whilst in 2009 there is now expected to be a further fall before a modest recovery at the end of that year and in 2010. The housing market has been particularly badly hit and these forecasts now anticipate that there will be fewer new housing starts in Great Britain this year than in any year since 1945, and that any significant recovery will not now occur until the latter part of next year and into 2010. After recent growth in the industrial sector we are now anticipating a much sharper downturn this year and the prospect of a recovery in the repair, maintenance and improvement of public housing is not materialising in the way that the earlier forecasts had anticipated. Some sectors, however, continue to be strong. In the short term, commercial development will continue to grow as projects started in the last couple of years are completed. The long-awaited recovery in investment in infrastructure is finally coming through, contracts are at last being let for the Building Schools for the Future programme, and work on the Olympics projects has now started on site.
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