EIGHTY per cent of new accounts at one Bournemouth bank are being opening by Poles and other Eastern Europeans.

They are opening "hundreds" of new personal accounts at Lloyds TSB's Bournemouth town centre branch.

Lloyds TSB business manager Richard Blow said: "We're opening a lot of accounts for Polish and other Eastern European people - we have posters up in Polish."

News of the trend emerged during discussions on the construction industry at the Lloyds TSB 60 Minute Business Analysis lunch at the Custom House restaurant, Poole.

Even with the proliferation of Eastern European workers in the construction and service sectors locally, the large demand for accounts was still "a surprise," said Mr Blow.

"We want them here - without these people coming in, the restrictions on the economy through lack of workforce would be immense," he added.

  • Delays caused by the planning system are now the biggest issue in construction, warned Michael Parker, MD of Michael Parker Homes, Blandford.

"It's so slow - there are so many hoops that you have to jump through," he said.

Martin Tiffin, a partner at Bournemouth-headquartered law firm Lester Aldridge, said it was taking "longer and longer" to complete construction projects.

Work that should have been done in parallel - obtaining planning permission, securing funding and appointing contractors - now had to be done in series because the process was so unpredictable.