An economic analysis for the Royal Mail has shown that Northern cities, Manchester in particular, are experiencing a building boom.
Other towns and cities captured in the Northern Powerhouse including Liverpool, Leeds, Wigan and Salford were close behind Manchester in terms of development with 9,127 schemes in the past three years.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research analysis of the Royal Mail's "Not Yet Built" database, which compiles new developments, believes that this reflects growing confidence in the Northern Powerhouse idea.
It is housing developments that have been the main driving force being construction across the country, with office space developments also experiencing an increase.
Other local authorities including the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Birmingham, Wiltshire and Edinburgh have seen an increase in housing schemes in the past three years with 8,303 new developments in each area on average.
The fastest growing type of new housing to be built is flats, which now account for nearly a quarter of UK residences. There has also been a 4% growth in the development of detached houses in the past five years.
Probably unsurprisingly the top 15 local authorities with the share of properties comprising flats are located in Greater London. 98% of residential properties in the City of London are flats.
