Councils want control of HS2 North and Midlands

PRIME Minister Boris Johnson has been urged to hand responsibility for building the HS2 high speed rail line to civic leaders in the North of England.

A new report backed by mayors and councillors in the North called for HS2 Ltd, the government-owned business currently overseeing construction, to be stripped of responsibility for the Midlands and North sections of the line.

Transport for the North, which is controlled by councils and mayors, would take over its role.

The report said: “Our review proposes that the North and Midlands must take control of the nation’s high-speed network.”

Authors include Nick Forbes, leader of Newcastle City Council, and Sir Howard Bernstein, former Chief Executive of Manchester City Council. The findings were also backed by Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council, and Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region.

HS2 Ltd has admitted that the rail scheme cannot be delivered within its budget of £55.7 billion, which was set in 2015. Instead, the cost has risen to between £72 billion and

£78 billion, again in 2015 prices. That means it will cost between £81 billion and £88 billion, in today’s money. It has also said the project, due for completion in 2033, may now be delayed until 2040.

The Department for Transport is preparing to receive the findings of an inquiry into HS2 commissioned by the prime minister, which could recommend scaling back the proposed rail line – or scrapping it entirely.

This week the North’s leaders have published their own recommendations in a document called the Northern Powerhouse Independent Review into HS2.

They called for the creation of a new body to oversee construction of HS2, to be called HS2 North. The

HS2 project, due to run between London, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, would be integrated with a second proposed rail scheme, called Northern Powerhouse Rail, which includes a new line linking Manchester and Leeds.

HS2 North would be overseen by Transport for the North, an authority covering the North East, North West and Yorkshire and Humberside.

Transport for the North in turn is controlled by mayors and council leaders representing cities such as Newcastle, Leeds and Hull as well as the mayors of Greater Manchester, Sheffield City Region, Tees Valley and Liverpool City Region.

The study said: “This model would be key to addressing some of the challenges government faces in continuing to build this project the way it has, while retaining HS2 Ltd to complete construction in the South to reach London and operate the services.”