Brexit has put the brakes on UK construction; even Aggregate Industries complained at the Venn Ottery Liaison Meeting last month that sales out of Blackhill "have slowed right up" and that production has been scaled back accordingly. As one economist commented:
Brexit negotiations will be protracted, so businesses will hold off committing to major capital expenditure for a long time to come.
Who knows whether AI will change any of its plans? In 2008:
Now can hardly be the best time to go cap-in-hand to your continental parent to ask them to bankroll another planning application for a UK greenfield quarry that could deliver less than a million tonnes.
UK #construction PMI at 45.9 in July signals steepest downturn since 2009. More here https://t.co/nT2acMPxPO pic.twitter.com/WVvdEQGFAb— Chris Williamson (@WilliamsonChris) August 2, 2016
