HS2’s northern leg scrapped: What’s being planned instead – and has London been snubbed?
It seemed unthinkable not long ago, but Rishi Sunak scrapped the Manchester leg of HS2 – and said it will be replaced by hundreds of new projects.
The scrapping means everything past the London to Birmingham leg, which is already under construction, will be torched, with the PM citing ballooning costs for pulling the plug.
Sunak pledged to reinvest the estimated £36bn saved by cancelling the infrastructure behemoth, on “hundreds of new transport projects in the North and the Midlands, and across the country.”
We have a look at what these other projects are, and whether London can eek out any benefit.
Despite one saving grace for the capital – that the at risk route to Euston survived the axe – City groups don’t seem to think it’s going very well.
Both the London Chamber of Commerce and Business London slammed the U-turn, while on Thursday the latter joined with other regional groups to club together, and attract more cash.
‘Network North’
Instead of the Northern leg of HS2, Britain will now get “Network North” a funding package providing £19.8bn to the North, £9.6bn to the Midlands and £6.5bn to the rest of the country.
The new scheme includes links “on a fully electrified line” from Manchester to a £2bn new station in Bradford, as well as to Sheffield and Hull.
£12bn pounds of additional funding is also being ringfenced to link up Manchester to Liverpool, while a new tram network will be built in Leeds.
Northern roads are equally set for a boost in the form of funding for Shipley Bypass in Bradford, the Blyth Relief Road in Northumberland and the delivery of “70 other road schemes.”
In fact, the PM is promising billions to fix Britain’s potholes nationwide.
Further South, more funding has been promised for the proposed Midlands Rail Hub, connecting to 50 rail stations, while £1bn of local transport funding will be allocated for the West Midlands City region.
Has London been snubbed, for once?
On the London side though, there was less to look forward to.
There will undoubtedly be some relief that the Prime Minister now appears committed to continuing the HS2 connection to Euston.
The government’s report on ‘Network North’ notes that it intends on investing in the Euston quarter “with the potential to unlock as many as 10,000 much-needed homes in London.”
And upgrades to the A1, A2, A5 and M6 roads, all of which connect to parts of the city, will boost connectivity.
John Dickie, chief executive of the campaign group BusinessLDN described the decision to stop halfway as “unthinkable” and “short-sighted,” while London Chamber of Commerce expressed similar dismay.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan expressed relief over clarity on the Euston section of HS2 but like others, reflected on the “colossal wasted opportunity.”
“Failure to build HS2 north of Birmingham will not only hold back jobs and growth in the north of England, but limit our ability to connect communities all across the country, including important links between London and other major cities and regions.”