Growth in Scottish construction activity slowed significantly during the first quarter of this year, a survey has shown.

The Construction Market Survey for Q1 2016 by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) revealed that workloads in the private industrial construction sub-sector fell for the first time since 2012.

The RICS highlighted a dampening impact on the Scottish construction sector of uncertainty ahead of the June 23 referendum on UK membership of the European Union and the Scottish Parliament elections next month for the slow start to the year.

On the whole workloads grew relatively firmly, with a net balance of 18 per cent of respondents reporting a rise in construction activity across Scotland. Construction activity in the commercial and public non-housing segments continued to rise steadily, while a net balance of 4 per cent of respondents reported a decline in activity in private industrial section.

There were positive signs in the housing market, with net balances of 21 per cent and 16 per cent of surveyors reporting growth in activity in the private and public sectors respectively.

Confidence in the outlook for the sector in Scotland also looks positive, with 50 per cent more respondents expecting workloads to rise rather than fall over the next 12 months. This is teamed with a net balance of 39 per cent of contributors expecting employment in the sector to increase over the next year.

Despite the positive predictions for growth in activity and employment, 63 per cent of respondents highlight a shortage of skills as a key barrier for potential growth.

Sarah Speirs, director RICS in Scotland, said: “Our survey tells us that planning delays and skills shortages are the biggest barriers to growth in the construction sector. Within our manifesto to the next Scottish Government, RICS calls for the introduction of Construction and Planning Skills programmes. These should include building experience within the industry short term and recruiting more people to impact the medium and longer term.

“That said, there are additional barriers to growth and we cannot discount the climate of uncertainty caused by the forthcoming Scottish Elections and EU referendum. We know that a range of sectors have been affected by these issues as investors look to delay any decisions until a final outcome has been determined, and construction is no exception.”