Stoke HS2 campaigners take their case to Westminster

STOKE-on-Trent’s campaign to get the HS2 high-speed rail line routed through the city has been presented at Westminster.

And High Speed Rail Select Committee chair Ian Mearns MP said the Stoke-on-Trent case for a station is strong.

He made the comments during a session assessing objections to phase one of the High Speed 2 project between Birmingham and London.

Stoke Route campaigners gave evidence to the committee making the case that the city must be included when the HS2 route is extended north of Birmingham, and that Stoke-on-Trent would make the best gateway to the north.

They argue that Stoke-on-Trent has massive development potential and is ideally located to act as the heart of a new super-region joining the Midlands and the North, helping to rebalance the national economy.

In addition, they suggest, the Stoke Route would be at least £2bn cheaper for the taxpayer and would deliver high speed connections to the north seven years early – by 2026.  

The committee ruled that although the city’s objection was outside the remit of the petition process, Stoke-on-Trent had put forward “very strong arguments”, and that the Stoke Route raises big issues.

“There are good arguments in favour of the route going to Stoke-on-Trent. I am sure that the MPs for the city will put those arguments forcefully on the floor of the House,” Mearns said. 

Timothy Mould QC, the lead counsel for HS2 at the department for transport, echoed these words by calling for “careful consideration of the claims for the phase two route and the city of Stoke-on-Trent.”

He also undertook to “ask the Secretary of State [to] take those submissions into account because they have been made to this committee, in this House, in considering the case for the phase two route”.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council leader Mohammed Pervez said: “The Stoke Route case is compelling. We have a great case and we are being taken very seriously in Government.

“Senior figures on all sides recognise that our plans are a perfect fit for the new dynamic which is driving the high speed rail agenda – the need to connect up the nation’s cities to maximise its economic growth potential.

“The Stoke Route stacks up. It’s cheaper for the taxpayer, its greener and it delivers more economic growth earlier than the alternatives. It’s the only serious contender on the table which really delivers on Lord Deighton’s vision for a city growth focused HS2 network,” he said.   

The city council has in recent months played host to a series of Government Ministers, shadow cabinet ministers and top officials from HS2 and Network Rail, who have come to Stoke-on-Trent to learn more about the city’s plans.

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