Sheffield Chamber calls for "logical" decision on South Yorkshire hub

SHEFFIELD Chamber of Commerce has demanded the “same logic must be applied in Sheffield” as has been used in Leeds to place the HS2 station in the city centre.
The Government has postponed making a decision on the location of the South Yorkshire hub until autumn 2016, declining to fully commit to its original choice of Meadowhall.
Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, said: “The evidence continues to suggest that [Meadowhall] is likely to be the best way of serving the wider South Yorkshire region and we are working with the National Infrastructure Commission and Transport for the North on the possible interfaces with Northern Powerhouse rail.
“However, we acknowledge there are arguments in favour of a city centre location and continue to examine relevant analysis.”
A possible city centre site would be at Sheffield Victoria, a disused railway station which closed in 1970, which is on the north side of the inner ring road.
One strong voice in favour of a city centre location for the HS2 station is Richard Wright, executive director of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce.
He said: “The Leeds station location is a good decision because it makes economic sense. Strategically, that is the best place to put it for the medium and long term because it starts to really optimise the north/south and east/west connections.
“Of course, that same logic must be applied in Sheffield. The latest economic studies indicate a city centre location will drive much larger economic returns than the out-of-town option and that the extra cost is much less than originally thought. The evaluation must be on value and not straight cost.”
He argued that the city’s place in the Northern Powerhouse would be weakened by placing the HS2 station at Meadowhall and in particular Sheffield’s professional services sector would suffer.
“Strategically we cannot afford to be marginalised as the Northern Powerhouse develops,” he said. “It will not benefit anybody if Sheffield becomes a two-bit player in the Manchester/Sheffield/Leeds triangle.
“I realise this opinion is not shared in all areas of the region but I would appeal that parochialism is not allowed to get in the way of maximum economic return. For example the professional and financial services sector is much smaller in the region than in other regions as identified in the University of Sheffield report last week.
“This contributes to lower average wages across the region resulting in less money in people’s pockets, which in turn translates into less retail spend, less restaurant spend and so on. A city centre location is much more likely to boost the professional services sector. We have to be very focused on the right economic and ‘human’ decision and collectively fight for it.”

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