Builders write to George Osborne to back Heathrow

The signatories include the heads of Balfour Beatty, Morgan Sindall, Laing O’Rourke and BAM Nuttall

Movements at Heathrow were disrupted in an attempt to increase the distance between arriving aircraft (Getty)

Thirteen of Britain’s largest construction and development companies have written to George Osborne urging him to live up to his declaration that “we are the builders” by supporting the building of a third runway at Heathrow.

The letter to the Chancellor states that the west Londonairport has provided a “steady base of work” during the economic downturn, and expansion would bring “a £15.6bn order book to the UK supply chain”.

It also points to a report last year by respected international economic think-tankthe OECD, which found that the UK has historically underspent on infrastructure, partially due to “long decision-making processes”.

The signatories, including the heads of Balfour Beatty, Morgan Sindall, Laing O’Rourke and BAM Nuttall, wrote: “At the Conservative conference in 2015 you announced ‘we are the builders’.

“We congratulate you on your vision to build the important infrastructure the country needs and make the hard decisions. We represent some of the largest developers and construction companies in the UK. We applaud your ambition and stand ready to help you deliver it.

“We are writing to encourage your support for Heathrow expansion.”

They added: “Let us help you build a better Britain by expanding Heathrow.”

The Davies Commission recommended last July that the runway should be built at Heathrow, at a cost of £18.6bn. But in December ministers postponed a final decision until at least the summer.