Member Article

Sheffield business leaders clash over Higgins report

Following chairman of HS2 Ltd. David Higgins report on the development of HS2 and ‘HS3’, most organisations within Yorkshire and the Sheffield region have supported the emphasis in developing rail links between Northern cities.

However, there have been concerns raised over the timing of the report, with some noting disappointment that the official HS2 route will not be annonced until after the General Election next year, and major concerns raised over the placing of a station for the development at Meadowhall rather than the city centre.

Sheffield council leader and HS2 Growth Task Force Member Julie Dore has also raised concerns. She said: “I said before the report was launched that HS2 was about jobs, growth and return on investment.

“For Sheffield, having a city centre station is fundamental to the future of our economy. A city centre station create 6,500 more jobs than a parkway station by allowing Sheffield city centre to connect with not only London but our other leading cities.

“Sheffield has being given a station located outside the city centre, other leading cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham are given city centre stations meaning Sheffield is at a competitive disadvantage.”

“The key test for the government in this week’s Higgins Report was to move away from pure rhetoric about HS2 transforming the economy and instead step up and make the big decisions needed to achieve this.

“Today they have failed in this respect and it is no good just ‘talking the talk’ about HS2 being essential to economic growth in the north.

“Given the overwhelming evidence and basic common sense supporting stations being located in city centres and not out of town, it is astonishing that in Sheffield we are still facing the prospect of a station located at Meadowhall.

“When we’re talking about a 21st Century economy which is defined by job growth concentrated in city centres, a parkway station located four miles outside of the centre of Sheffield isn’t going to cut it.”

The Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership and Sheffield City Region Combined Authority however both welcomed the report’s clear commitment to HS2, to the full Y-network and to a station located in the Sheffield City Region.

They also support Sir David’s recommendation to further invest in connecting the economies of the North, including plans for a high speed railway from Hull to Liverpool.

The Sheffield City Region’s involvement in One North will ensure that the economy can fully capitalise on this extra investment as it continues to play a central part in the revitalisation of the North.

James Newman, chairman of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “The LEP board fully backs Government plans for HS2 and we strongly agree with this latest report’s emphasis on the significance of Phase 2 of the project which is critically important to future business growth in the North.

“We fully support the inclusion of a Sheffield City Region station as part of the Eastern leg of the network, as this forms a key part of our Strategic Economic Plan.

“The LEP is working with all local organisations to make sure we are ready to capitalise on the huge supply chain opportunities from HS2.

“The scale of the growth potential from HS2 cannot be underestimated. HS2 is a £42.6 billion project, with 330 miles of new track, four new stations and five stations to be redeveloped.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .