Record levels of construction activity are being reported in UK regional cities, according to a new survey.

In its Real Estate Crane Survey, Deloitte has revealed Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Belfast are experiencing significant growth in offices, residential, hotels, retail, education and student housing developments.

With 1.4 million sq ft of new office space under construction in Birmingham, this is a 50% increase from the previous year (969,000 sq ft). In addition, there has been a large increase in the number of residential schemes.

Manchester has also recorded 22 residential projects which started construction last year, with nearly 7,000 units to be delivered. Four residential towers over 25-storeys tall are also under development, including the UK's tallest residential tower. In the hotel sector, Manchester has recorded 1,040 rooms under construction which will be the largest delivery of hotel rooms in 10 years for the city.

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A total of 20 schemes were completed last year in Leeds, with the highest level of office space delivered since 2007 (over 700,000 sq ft). Six new office starts have also been recorded, while retail projects toped nearly 600,000 sq ft last year. However, city centre residential construction remains modest in Leeds with only three new residential schemes starting last year.

In Belfast, the hotel sector is growing with six new projects under construction, delivering more than of 1,000 new hotel rooms. The student accommodation sector is also active, with almost 500 bed-spaces being delivered across seven major projects in the city centre. This is in addition to the 413 bed-spaces that completed in 2016.

Elsewhere, 19 schemes are under construction in Belfast and 11 schemes completed in 2016, including four new educational facilities, seven new student accommodation projects, six office developments and eight new hotels. Office and residential development activity was subdued representing a near term challenge, although this issue is not unique to the city. The report records 84 residential units were completed in the city centre in 2016, with none scheduled to come to the market this year.

Simon Bedford, local government development partner at Deloitte Real Estate, said the four crane survey results reflect "growth and resurgence" in the regions.

"Sentiment towards city centre development is buoyant with residential rising to new levels, quite literally in Manchester, with the addition of towers that will alter the city skyline. The unparalleled scale and volume of development in the regions prompted us to monitor a further city.

"Belfast's development pipeline is in good shape and we expect to see even more cranes there in 2017. All sectors are active and we conclude that our regional cities are delivering growth and investment at levels not witnessed for many years."

(LM/MH)