Outcry at plan to put HS2 on stilts and ‘devastate city centre’
LEADERS in the north have warned that the government has a once-in-alifetime chance to make the right decision for Manchester’s HS2 station – but that ministers are on the cusp of wasting it.
And as the HS2 Crewe-Manchester Bill is prepared for a second reading in Parliament, they have issued an urgent appeal to give the region the hub it needs to thrive over the next 120 years.
Bev Craig, leader of Manchester council, has stressed that the high speed rail line from London to Manchester, due for completion in 2040, is vital to unclog network capacity, improve connections between the North, West Midlands and London, and boost economic growth.
However, she is joined by other leaders, rail experts and industry leaders in her plea that the Manchester station is built in the best way – and that means going underground.
It also means a rethink on the current plan for an overground turn-back station on the northern flank of the existing Piccadilly station, which, say its critics, will:
■ Wipe out the potential for future east-west links by hitting full capacity from day one
■ Swallow up 500,000 sq metres of prime development land
■ Crush the potential for 14,000 new jobs
■ Cut Metrolink lines for years
■ Leave a city centre region severed by viaducts and ugly concrete structures
■ Snub leaders’ carbon neutral, clean air and public transport plans with huge multi-storey car parks for 2,000 cars
Meanwhile, swathes of land will be turned into building sites during construction – causing huge disruption and wasting the potential for a further 2,600 jobs. Passengers will exit the hub into an area currently housing bins and the back of Greggs.
The current Bill sees HS2 emerge from the ground in Ardwick before travelling on a mile-long viaduct of up to 12 metres in height to reach the new surface station. In order to then connect up to Leeds, it will have to turn back on itself and leave Piccadilly on more viaducts across east Manchester towards Yorkshire.
Coun Craig told the M.E.N.: “HS2 for me is a real opportunity not just for Manchester but of the north more broadly. That’s why it has to be done properly.
“It’s currently being proposed that HS2 runs underground until it comes
out of the ground on huge concrete stilts and runs above ground into the city centre. No other European city would start by building rail infrastructure on concrete stilts. It’s an outdated notion of urban planning, more reminiscent of the 1970s than what we want to see in 2040.
“You would not see a scheme like this proposed in London, or another city in the south east. So why should Manchester have to deal with something that’s substandard from day one and that doesn’t deliver on the rail opportunities that HS2 gives?”
She added: “I am strongly of the opinion that what’s been planned by the government at the moment is the wrong plan to maximise the benefit of HS2 to Manchester.”
Coun Craig is among leaders pushing for an underground station, built in consultation with passengers and businesses here.
Crucially, a surface station means the government’s cut-price Northern Powerhouse Rail – downgraded in Grant Shapps’ Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) in November last year – could not be brought back to life in the future as the hub will hit full capacity from day one.
Coun Craig added: “Manchester has long opposed the cutbacks to Northern Powerhouse Rail. We want that door to be open for the future and the underground station allows us to do that. This allows us not to be full at day one and allows us the opportunity, should a government in future listen to us around our concerns of connectivity from one city to another, to use that platform.”
Graham Stringer, former leader of Manchester City Council and MP for Blackley and Broughton, said the cutprice plan will ‘economically sterilise’ parts of the city, adding: “There is no doubt we are getting a second class link to HS2 in Manchester. By not going into tunnels they are reducing the ability of people travelling east-west. This symbolises the government’s attitude to the north.”
Analysis by the council shows the surface station will rob the city’s economy of £333m a year by 2050, compared to an underground hub. But the government has dismissed this optimal choice on the grounds that it will set them back, according to High Speed rail director general Clive Maxwell, £5bn more. Yet no evidence of this costing has been provided – sparking a call from mayor Andy Burnham for Westminster to share the maths behind the figure.
Greater Manchester’s business community is backing the fight for the best stations for the region - and its economy.
Coun Craig is asking that the government consider the issues raised by leaders, that costs are worked out in partnership, challenges met through co-operation – and that their concerns are considered seriously.