Leaders demand timetable for fast rail line
‘We are ready to take charge of our destiny’
BUSINESS AND council leaders have told the Government to honour its transport promises to the North and set out a clear timetable for the delivery of a trans-Pennine high-speed rail network.
Ministers faced demands to deliver on longstanding promises to electrify key rail lines and to ensure the North receives a fairer share of transport funding.
The Government was also urged to include a timetable for the delivery of trans-Pennine high-speed rail, a project known as Northern Powerhouse Rail, in this autumn’s Budget and to promise that the scheme would not be sacrificed to fund emerging plans for a second Crossrail line in London.
The summit in Leeds also heard calls for the creation of a ‘Council of the North’ bringing together business, councils and other groups together to speak with a single voice to the Government.
The event was called after Transport Secretary Chris Grayling scrapped plans to electrify the Midland Mainline between Nottingham and Sheffield and suggested a commitment to electrify the trans-Pennine route between Leeds and Manchester could be downgraded. He prompted further anger on the eve of the summit when, writing in The Yorkshire Post, he suggested “the success of Northern transport depends on the North itself ”.
A statement issued after the Leeds summit said Mr Grayling was responsible for “worrying messages” that essential transport improvements would not be delivered in full. It said: “We believe that people across the North have waited long enough for transport services on a par with other parts of the country.
“The disparity between transport in the North of England and London must now be addressed.”
Council leaders criticised Mr Grayling for suggesting the North should take responsibility for its transport problems when the powers and budget are controlled by Whitehall.
But they also seized on his comments as an invitation to open discussions over how major transport funding could be put in the North’s hands.
Leeds City Council leader Judith Blake said: “We’re very happy to take on this agenda. Give us real devolution, give us the powers, the resource and the ability to do things ourselves and we are very happy to step up to the plate.”
Coun Blake told the summit it was hard to imagine Mr Grayling making similar comments to other parts of the country, particularly the South-East.
She continued: “If this is serious, if they really want to talk about devolving the powers and resources that we need I think all of us would say we are ready to really take charge of our destiny.”
Newcastle Council leader Nick Forbes accused Mr Grayling of “passing the buck without passing the bucks”. Sheffield Council leader Julie Dore criticised Mr Grayling’s “adversarial” approach.
THE LEADER of the council at the heart of the Grenfell Tower disaster faced fresh calls to resign during a fraught public meeting.
Elizabeth Campbell, head of Kensington and Chelsea Council, endured heckles and questions over her competence in front of residents from the west London neighbourhood last night.
The authority has come under sustained attack over its handling of the tragedy, in which at least 80 people died.
Ms Campbell was joined by the council chief executive, Barry Quirk, representatives from the police and Pepe Francis, the organiser of Notting Hill Carnival, at the Al Manaar, the Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, west London.
She was told by one woman in attendance she had “blood on her hands” while others suggested she stood down.
“I’m not stepping down, I’m stepping up, I’m doing everyone we can to make everything better,” Ms Campbell told the meeting.
But the resident replied: “You come to these meetings time after time and you do nothing.”
Earlier Ms Campbell said nine offers of permanent accommodation have been accepted by Grenfell survivors whose homes were destroyed, while one household has already moved in to a new home.
Ms Campbell said she hoped more of the 180-plus households in hotels and temporary accommodation would be rehoused as soon as possible, but according to “their need, not speed”.
And she pledged to spend “every penny” of the council’s vast reserves on rehousing those affected by the tragedy if necessary, with £76m set to be made available in a leadership meeting today.
Some £30m has already been allocated by the council for rehousing, Ms Campbell said, while it is costing the council £1,000 per household per week to keep families in temporary accommodation.
She said: “It’s a lot of money, tens of millions of pounds, but that’s what that money is there for.
“We’ve built up reserves and we built them up in case of emergencies, and this is an emergency.”
Polly Neate, chief executive of the homelessness charity Shelter, said: “After such extraordinary devastation and an agonising 10 weeks of uncertainty, the offer of permanent homes will come as some relief to a few survivors of the Grenfell Tower, though sadly many will still be facing a longer wait.”
Meanwhile, an inquest has been told that one of the victims of the Grenfell disaster was found next to her mother. Mariem Elgwahry, 27, lived on the 19th floor of the tower with her mother Eslah Elgwahry, 64. The bodies of the two women were found side by side on the 23rd floor of the block of flats, which was devastated by fire on June 14.
It’s a lot of money, but that’s what that money is there for. Elizabeth Campbell, council leader.