Construction sites allowed to be open until 9pm

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has announced that construction sites are now allowed to stay open until 9pm in residential areas.

Jenrick said the move, applying on weekdays and Saturdays, will allow workers to stagger shifts meaning social distancing measures can be put in place and it will ease pressure on public transport. The extension will also let the construction industry ‘catch up’ on work.

Building sites can apply for this extension to working hours with ‘immediate effect’. Jenrick added that ‘these applications should be approved by local councils unless there are very compelling reasons not to do so.’

Earlier this week official figures showed that construction workers are among the workers with the highest number of deaths since the start of the outbreak.

The Office for National Statistics found there were 25.9 deaths per 100,000 – making it one of the worst-hit professions in the crisis so far.

Jenrick said the housing and construction industries must get up and running again after weeks of lockdown.