Extreme summer heat adds estimated £200,000 to developer costs – Shawbrook
51% reported lower productivity, while 50% experienced technical delays involving building materials.
Extreme heat added an estimated average of £213,617 to property developers’ costs this summer, research from Shawbrook found.
More than half (52%) of developers faced higher costs from temporary cooling measures, including HVAC systems.
51% reported lower productivity, while 50% experienced technical delays involving building materials.
Nearly half stopped work temporarily on at least one project.
Only 2% reported no negative impact from the weather.
43% plan to extend project timelines, while the same proportion expect to introduce further health and safety measures for workers during heatwaves.
More than a third plan to avoid certain building phases during peak summer months.
A further 37% expect to change site designs to improve natural ventilation and shading.
Two in five developers plan to invest in climate-resistant building materials or technology, while 36% expect to increase spending on climate-proofing.
Over the next 12 months, 52% plan to install air conditioning or cooling systems.
Other measures included sustainable drainage systems at 47%, water management policies at 46%, electric vehicle infrastructure at 41% and solar power at 36%.
Terry Woodley, managing director of development finance at Shawbrook, said: “This was an exceptional summer, but an estimated average additional cost of more than £200,000 shows the practical impact prolonged hot weather can have on development projects – affecting day-to-day work, timelines and budgets.
“The bigger picture is housing supply. When projects pause and completion dates slip, that’s homes arriving later in a country that needs more of them.
“The developers adapting fastest are treating heat like any other project risk – pricing it into contingencies, phasing the heaviest work away from peak summer and building resilience in from the design stage.”
Woodley added: “And where costs or timelines do move, the earlier that conversation happens with a lender, the more options stay on the table.”
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