Mayor fights to save HS2 as he joins review panel

Business bosses: Don’t scrap line now

BUSINESS leaders have urged the Government not to scrap the HS2 high speed rail line, saying it is “vital” for the West Midlands economy.

It follows confirmation Boris Johnson’s government is to hold a review

into “whether HS2 should proceed” – West Midland mayor Andy Street, who backs the scheme, will sit on the review panel

Birmingham Chamber chief Paul Faulkner said the region is already experiencing benefits from HS2 through improved investor confidence. But he warned a ‘stop-start’ approach from the Government could hamper business confidence.

And city leaders in the north of England expressed alarm after the Government revealed one option was to build only the line between London and Birmingham – cancelling plans to extend HS2 to the east Midlands, Leeds and Manchester.

WEST Midlands mayor Andy Street is to help lead Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s review into the HS2 high-speed rail line as business leaders cautioned against scrapping it.

The Department for Transport has confirmed that the review will consider “whether and how HS2 should proceed” – potentially concluding that the project should be scrapped.

CBI West Midlands Regional Director Richard Butler said: “My message to Boris is - back the West Midlands and build HS2.

“The Midlands Engine needs these critical piece of infrastructure.”

But Mr Street, a firm supporter of the proposed rail network, will be a member of the review panel. He said he would make the case for going ahead with HS2, and was confident he could win the argument.

As revealed by the Post in July, the review will be chaired by Douglas Oakervee, a former chairman of the 73-mile Crossrail line in London and the South East, and a former chairman of HS2 Ltd, the Government

owned business building the highspeed rail line.

Mr Street said: “I am delighted to be on the panel of the Oakervee Review, and look forward to working with the Chair and the other members of the panel from other parts of the country.

“I can understand why the Prime Minister has called a review as we need to make sure the management and budget of HS2 are under control, and that the project provides value for money for taxpayers.

“This review means we have to make the business case for HS2 again and win the argument, which I am more than confident of doing.

“HS2 is mission critical for the West Midlands as it will free up the capacity we so desperately need on our existing railways, drive huge economic growth, and is already creating jobs and building new homes in the region.”

HS2, which will run between London, Birmingham, Crewe,

Manchester, the East

Midlands and Leeds, has a budget of £55.7 billion.

But the project’s chairman has reportedly admitted it could cost £30 billion more, and some people have suggested the eventual cost could be £100 billion. Mr Johnson has previously been critical of the project but also said he would be reluctant to cancel it.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the review will look at whether and how HS2 should proceed, using all existing evidence on the project to consider its benefits and impacts; affordability and efficiency; deliverability and scope; and the timetable for building it. This will include the relationship between HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail, a proposed new rail network in the north of England connecting cities including Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle.

It is thought the review will look for ways of ensuring the North benefits quickly from HS2.

Birmingham MP Liam Byrne (Lab, Hodge Hill) said HS2 must go ahead.

He said: “The West Midlands had the second worst growth of any region in UK last year. Cancelling HS2 will plunge us back into recession just as the Brexit asteroid hits us. So this review needs to be shorter, sharper and give us the green light to speed up.”

Opponents of HS2 argue that the project should be scrapped and the money spent on transport services in the North of England instead.

However, civic leaders in the North generally support HS2, partly because it will bring new rail services directly to Leeds, Crewe and Manchester and partly because current plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail are based on the assumption that HS2 will be built. The Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme is effectively a major extension of HS2 rather than a standalone scheme.

HS2 is mission critical for the West Midlands

West Midlands mayor Andy Street, left