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Infrastructure projects, including rail, are heavily reliant on workers from the EU

Big infrastructure and housebuilding projects will be at risk if skilled builders from the EU are not allowed to remain in the country after Brexit, groups from across the construction industry have warned.

In a letter to David Davis, the Brexit minister, groups representing Britain’s surveyors, architects, planners and builders set out demands to safeguard construction projects from a labour shortage.

“We are in the grip of our worst construction skills crisis in almost 20 years,” said Amanda Clack, president of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. “There is a real concern within our industry that if access to a skilled workforce is further restricted, Britain could stop building.

“My colleagues and I would urge government to keep this at the forefront of their minds when they come to negotiate our withdrawal from the EU.”

The Royal Institute of British Architects, Chartered Institute of Building and Royal Town Planning Institute also signed the letter.

In Rics’ latest construction survey, 56 per cent of respondents said skills shortages were a constraint on growth, with bricklayers and quantity surveyors in especially short supply.

The government has not yet said what its plan to control immigration will be, but has said it wants to return to an annual target of “tens of thousands” per year. Amber Rudd, the home secretary, told the BBC on Sunday that a work permit system “has value”.

More than 100,000 construction workers from elsewhere in the EU were working in the UK in 2014, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, as part of a 2.1m-strong construction workforce. In London, more than half of construction workers are from outside the UK.

MPs also warned on Wednesday that the Department for Transport may find it difficult to secure the skills required for the High Speed 2 railway project, given the raft of other projects coming on stream such as Network Rail’s modernisation programme and London’s new super sewer.

The Commons public accounts committee said: “The extensive programme of infrastructure investment over the next few years is increasing the demand for engineering, project management and commercial skills across the industry.

“The department and HS2 Ltd are competing with consulting and engineering firms and other government projects for scarce skills, which represents a key challenge that will also impact on project costs.”

The professional bodies said ministers should also focus on maintaining construction and infrastructure investment over the period of Britain’s exit from the EU. Ms Clack highlighted an immediate drop in infrastructure investment after the June referendum, although she said this has “since stabilised”.

The £40bn UK construction industry is forecast to slide into recession next year, driven by falls in residential, commercial and industrial projects, according to the Construction Products Association, which represents manufacturers and suppliers.

“It is fundamental the government prioritises infrastructure and it remains at the forefront of maintaining a strong economy,” said Ms Clack.