Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce is calling for immediate clarity and commitment from the Government over its plans for the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the HS2 rail project.
Any decision to scrap the phase 2 section of the multi-billion-pound high speed line would be a “hammer blow” for the local economy and would “destroy” business confidence, the Chamber has warned.
Reports in the national press, and a BBC interview with Defence Secretary Grant Shapps – in which he said the Government would be crazy not to review the project in light of soaring costs – suggest that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is looking at changes.
An announcement is expected over the coming days – ahead of the Conservative Party Conference, which starts in Manchester this weekend. Asked to clarify his position yesterday, Mr Sunak said he would not be drawn on speculation.
Staffordshire Chambers has joined a host of concerned businesses and politicians who are totally opposed to the scrapping of the key phase of the project.
The Chamber is also writing to the Government asking for clarity and a firm commitment to build the Birmingham to Manchester leg, which would run through Staffordshire, then via Crewe in neighbouring Cheshire.
According to the HS2 operating company’s own data, the Phase 2a section – from the West Midlands to Crewe – is expected to support 6,500 jobs.
Chamber Policy Adviser Declan Riddell, pictured above, said: “Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce is calling for a clear Government commitment to build HS2 all the way from the buffers at London Euston, to the buffers at Manchester Piccadilly.
“HS2 is not just tracks and trains. Western Europe’s largest construction programme brings apprenticeship and training opportunities for the next generation of construction workers.
“Many Staffordshire businesses stand to benefit from the construction of HS2 through our region and any decision to cancel the leg of HS2 between Birmingham and Manchester will be a hammer blow for our local economy and will destroy business confidence.”
HS2 is supposed to link London, the Midlands and the north of England and is a keystone in the Government’s Levelling Up agenda. The first phase of the project, between west London and Birmingham, is in mid-construction.
However, the scheme as a whole has already faced delays, cost increases and cuts. The planned eastern leg between Birmingham and Leeds has been shelved and a section of the line from the outskirts of west London to Euston Station is also currently on ice.
The last official estimate on HS2 costs, excluding the cancelled eastern section, added up to about £71billion – but that was in 2019.
Labour has so far refused to confirm it would fund the HS2 line to Manchester if the Conservatives axe it.
Has the Chamber taken local opinion on this?
Without the main line from Manchester to London stopping in Stoke our service will be reduced.
There’s will be x number of jobs created during the build. But what about longer term prosperity?