Green shoots are appearing in the construction industry with renewed interest in house building, according to award-winning East Midlands civil and structural engineering company BSP Consulting.

The firm is reporting an increase in inquiries from landowners looking to make their sites 'oven ready' for building after demand for development sites has started to rise.

BSP, with offices in Nottingham, Derby and Leicester, has gained technical permissions for roads and drainage for a site on the outskirts of Wrexham which has recently been sold by the client to a major house builder.

BSP has now begun a similar process for a site near Glasgow, and is dealing with an increase in site appraisal requests.

"Getting a site 'oven ready' for developers by gaining the necessary permissions for infrastructure like drainage and roads makes a site more attractive and more valuable, and at BSP we've noticed a significant increase in inquiries for site appraisals," said BSP Consulting director Martin Breakwell.

"It's a definite sign that there is renewed interest in house building, which for some time now has been a very depressed market. Site owners who get technical permissions for infrastructure for their land are in a stronger position when it comes to selling their sites, which has been evidenced by the sale of the site that BSP worked on near Wrexham."

BSP, which was recently named Consultant of the Year 2009 at the East Midlands Property Dinner, provides a comprehensive range of consultancy services to all sectors of the construction community, from architects, project managers and contractors to developers and estate agents. Based in the East Midlands, the firm has contracts across the UK, and is currently working on a wide variety of projects from regeneration schemes to retirement projects.

BSP employs almost 40 people across its three offices in the East Midlands - at Oxford Street, Nottingham, Pride Park, Derby, and De Montfort Street, Leicester.