Construction contracts have shifted from being mainly in London and the South-East to a more even spread across the country, according to Barbour ABI and the Construction Products Association.

In previous years, London dominated the list of spots where the value of construction contracts was highest.

But Barbour ABI and the Construction Products Association found that last year investment in housebuilding, infrastructure and commercial property is increasingly spread across the UK.

Scotland and the West Midlands had the highest growth in value of contracts last year. In the capital the total value of contracts awarded there was £13.1bn last year, down 14.6% on 2015.

Just three areas of London appeared in the top 10 places with the highest-value construction contracts.

Michael Dall, an economist at Barbour ABI, said: “The Government is focused on raising the levels of major infrastructure projects, in particular public sector schemes such as offshore wind farms, energy plants and motorway upgrades have considerably boosted construction value in more rural regions.

“Districts such as the Isle of Anglesey and Norwich and East Norfolk have experienced year-on- year construction contract value growth of 916pc and 744pc respectively.”

The report also found the nation’s cold spots, where investment into construction projects is well below average, were the result of a slowdown in housebuilding in the South-East, Yorkshire & Humber and the East Midlands.