“COMPLETE BETRAYAL”: HS2 route threats condemned
BUSINESS and public leaders from across the East Midlands and South and West Yorkshire have united to condemn the latest suggestion that the long-planned eastern arm of HS2 Phase 2b should be scrapped.
Doubt was first cast on the future of this 123-mile section of HS2’s Y-shaped route between the West Midlands and Leeds back in February, when HS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson failed to mention it during his maiden speech.
And the prospect of eliminating the eastern arm was raised yet again at the end of June, as part of fresh proposals for Manchester’s HS2 station drawn up by architect Weston Williamson and engineering consultancy Expedition.
Under the controversial proposals, a through station would be built at Manchester Piccadilly rather than the existing plans for a terminus, with services from London and Birmingham continuing via a new trans-Pennine tunnel towards Bradford, Leeds and England’s North East.
The two companies argue that this rival plan would save “several billion pounds” by combining
HS2 (expected to cost between £81bn and £88bn) and Northern Powerhouse Rail (£39bn) into a single integrated project.
They say that the new plan, submitted to government for consideration as part of its High Speed North integrated rail plan, would enable construction of the eastern leg to be cancelled or deferred in favour of upgrading existing lines.
The future of HS2 Phase 2b and the question of how best to integrate it with NPR is currently being assessed by the National Infrastructure Commission, so that government can finalise the integrated rail plan by the end of the year.
Sub-national transport bodies Transport for the North and Midlands Connect have both already made submissions that call on government to commit to delivering HS2 and NPR in full without descoping either project.
The Government-commissioned Oakervee Review into HS2 also examined calls to scrap the eastern arm of HS2, before recommending earlier this year that the full network should go ahead as intended.
Midlands Connect Director Maria Machancoses told RAIL that the 22 local authorities, nine Local Enterprise Partnerships and several chambers of commerce that she represents would “not accept any alternatives” and described the latest proposals as “impractical, illconsidered and short-sighted”.
She added: “The full benefits of HS2 can only be realised by building the whole of the Y-shaped network, in its entirety. To de-scope Phase 2b of the project from Birmingham to Leeds would be a betrayal of communities in the East Midlands, Chesterfield and north of England that have suffered from decades of underinvestment in capital infrastructure, condemning them to a second-class railway and stunted economic growth.”
Several MPs on the line of route have also voiced their objections to the plans, saying they threaten to deprive the East Midlands and South Yorkshire of the considerable economic and connectivity benefits of HS2.
They include Nottingham South MP and former Transport Select Committee Chairwoman Lilian Greenwood, who said: “This would be a complete betrayal of the East Midlands. Where’s our east-west connectivity? Where’s our fast connection to the north and Scotland? The biggest benefits come from the eastern leg - we won’t stand for it.”
Matt Jackson, president of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, added: “The Government says it is committed to building out the whole of HS2 and we will be holding them to that.
“We have an HS2 review in progress via the National Infrastructure Commission to which we have, as a city, contributed to stress the importance of having
an integrated rail network locally and across the
North. The eastern leg of HS2 is a key part of putting together that integrated network alongside Northern Powerhouse Rail and all the other vital rail schemes. HS2 must serve the East Midlands and Sheffield as planned.”
Meanwhile, the leaders of both Leeds City and Nottinghamshire County Councils sent a joint letter to Prime Minister
Boris Johnson on July 5 demanding that work starts at the earliest opportunity on the eastern arm of Phase 2b.
They say the investment in new infrastructure is critical to achieving the goals implied by the Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda, and that it would deliver an additional 150,000 jobs and billions of pounds more in productivity.
Research commissioned by the two councils also shows that the eastern arm is home to around 13 million people and six million jobs, equating to 20% of the UK and bigger than the combined size of the West Midlands and North West.
Leeds City Council Leader Judith Blake said: “The case for the eastern leg is compelling, with a far higher return than other sections. We cannot afford to delay this investment: the sooner we start, the sooner people will benefit, and the economy will grow.”
A Department for Transport spokesman told RAIL: “Our Integrated Rail Plan is currently looking at how projects can work together to deliver better connections across the North and Midlands, as quickly as possible. The plan will be published by the end of the year.”