Member Article

Manchester welcomes report backing benefits of HS2

The leader of Manchester City Council has welcomed a newly-published report by the HS2 Growth Task Force calling for cities to plan ahead to realise the maximum economic benefits from the scheme.

The Task Force, which is independent of HS2 Ltd and concentrates on securing the opportunities for growth which HS2 would generate, sets out major themes in its initial report The Challenge.

It highlights the potential for cities such as Manchester, which would have HS2 stations at both Piccadilly and Manchester Airport, to be reinvigorated as the shackles of poor capacity and inadequate transport are removed.

The report calls on cities on and around the route to have strategic plans to maximise growth for HS2 and points out that they do not have to wait until the first HS2 trains start running to begin to benefit.

It notes: “We believe that they can harness the potential if they are prepared and can offer some certainty to potential investors by having bold and visionary plans agreed.”

The Task Force report also notes that new and refurbished stations can provide a launch pad for investment in the surrounding area and cites the transformational impact of high speed rail in the Kings Cross-St Pancras area of London and Lille.

It also calls for the government, local government and other partners involved in the project to explore innovative ways of streamlining and accelerating HS2-related developments.

Manchester has recently unveiled a proposed strategic regeneration framework for the Piccadilly area, which can be seen and commented on until 8 November atwww.manchester.gov.uk/consultations and plans for an HS2 aiport station are also complemented by ambitious proposals for Airport City.

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said: “I welcome this report which very much echoes our thinking and once again reinforces the once in a century potential of HS2.

“We believe Manchester is ahead of the game and well placed to capture the benefits of HS2, especially as we would have two stations, but it’s important that we do all we can as soon as we can to seize the benefits and start writing our HS2 success story.”

The Task Force report is published at www.gov.uk/hs2growthtaskforce

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .