Competition launched to decide GBR headquarters
THE GOVERNMENT has launched a competition to decide which town or city will become the new home for the headquarters of Great British Railways (GBR).
The creation of GBR was announced as part of the Williams-shapps Review published last year. The Government is keen to establish a base for the organisation away from London as part of its aims to ‘level up’ the UK, and will bring a number of highly-skilled jobs to the winning location. Additionally, it is anticipated that local economies will be boosted by a number of new regional headquarters across the country. Locations with strong historical links to the railway are being encouraged to state why they believe they should be the new home of GBR. The GBR Transition Team will shortlist the best applications in May, after which a public vote will determine the winner. Applications will be measured against six criteria: their alignment to the Government’s Levelling Up objectives; how well connected and easy to get to they are; what opportunities the location represents for Great British Railways; the railway heritage of the location and links to the rail network; value for money; and the level of public support.
Speaking about the competition, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Our railways have kept this country moving for almost 200 years but it’s time to kick-start a new age that will shape our network for the next 200.
“I’m calling on people across the country to make the case for why the true home of the railways is on your doorstep.”
Leader of the Great British Railways transition team, Andrew Haines, added: “This is the chance for cities and towns across the UK to pitch to be a key part of an exciting chapter in the history of Britain’s railway.”