Speculation over the future of HS2 link is ‘nothing new’
THE leader of Nottinghamshire County Council says there is “nothing new at all” in a statement from an unnamed Whitehall source claiming the Government has “run out of cash” for HS2’S Eastern leg.
Currently, the high speed route will run from London to Birmingham before splitting into a Y-shape, with the Western leg going to Manchester and the Eastern leg going to Leeds.
The Eastern leg, however, has been put back up for review amid soaring costs and the future of the route through Nottinghamshire, which would include a hub at Toton, is now expected to be revealed upon the publication of the Integrated Rail Plan.
This was anticipated in early 2021, but it was delayed and it is now expected later this year.
Over the weekend a report in the Mirror included alleged claims from a Whitehall source that the cash had run out.
The source said: “They might make some announcement about doing the work in the future but everyone involved in this knows the truth.
“They have run out of cash. There’s no way we’re going to see this built in our lifetimes.
“It shows exactly how serious the Tories have been about levelling up all along.”
The statement prompted outrage from local leaders and politicians, including Nottingham South MP Lilian Greenwood, who said “levelling-up was always an empty slogan” as well as Labour Lord and former Gedling MP Vernon Coaker who added that promises of investment for the East Midlands had been being broken for 11 years.
However Ben Bradley, the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council and MP for Mansfield, told the Post that nothing new had been said in terms of the plans.
“Beyond the sensationalist headlines, the articles I’ve read don’t say anything at all,” he said.
“Government source confirms that they want to try and save some money on the Eastern leg. Shock.
“We’ve known that for a year.
No new facts. For our part we need to keep trying to make sure that, whatever the Eastern leg looks like, however scaled back it may be, Toton forms part of it. “Nothing new at all.” Residents in the path of the proposed HS2 route, such as those in Trowell, previously said their treatment had been “shambolic”, stating they had heard nothing about the future of their homes since June 2019.
East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire) chief executive Scott Knowles has therefore called for a deci- sion to be made sooner rather than later amid the continued “speculation” over HS2 East’s future.
He said: “Fundamentally, nothing has officially changed regarding the future of the HS2 Eastern Leg since last year when the Government said it would set out its proposals in the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP).
“With the IRP being kicked down the road continuously and not expected until the autumn, it has left a void for constant speculation that is causing huge uncertainty at a time when we need to know the direction ahead for future regional economic planning. It’s time for the Government to stop playing games with the future of our region, and those other areas that would stand to benefit significantly from HS2 East.” The Department for Transport says the story is speculation. A spokesman added: “The Integrated Rail Plan will soon outline exactly how major rail projects, including HS2 phase 2b and other transformational projects such as Northern Powerhouse Rail, will work together to deliver the reliable train services that passengers across the North and Midlands need and deserve.”
The DFT says no decisions have yet been made in terms of delivery of Phase 2b.
It’s time for the Government to stop playing games with the future of our region
Scott Knowles