Mcr City Region: Leaders stress capacity in HS2 debate

DESPITE the £40bn+ cost and the fact that the proposed link won’t reach the North West until the 2030s, supporters of the High Speed 2 campaign argue that the investment is essential for the future prosperity of the city region.

At TheBusinessDesk.com’s round table debate for its 30-page Manchester City Region Supplement, there was general support – though with some concern over the way the campaign is being ‘sold’ to the public – for the controversial infrastructure scheme.

Those in favour argue that HS2 will ease capacity constraints on the West Coast mainline, while the speed element –  journey times London will be cut to  80 minutes – is merely  “the icing on the cake”.

Phil Cusack, president of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, who admitted to being “astounded” by the negative stance taken by rival business lobbying group the Institute of Directors, said the pro-campaign had got off to a bad start.

“It should never have been called High Speed2 – it should have been High Capacity2. If we are planning a decade ahead, this is not important or desirable but critical.”

Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council and deputy chair of the Government’s HS2 Growth Taskforce Group added: “If you stand at the railway station at Milton Keynes or Watford you get an idea about how constrained capacity is now. Fundamentally it’s about how we need another railway line.”

He said furore over the scheme – led by some parts of the London-based media – did not reflect well on the UK.

Stephen Chalcraft, head of regeneration and infrastructure at Manchester law firm Pannone, echoed the sentiment that the UK as a country is not good at delivering key infrastructure projects.

“Like it or not we are dependent on central government and it has got to get better at delivering this stuff,” he said.

New Economy’s director of economic strategy Baron Frankal, said the London-centric approach to investment is reflected by the fact that construction on HS2 won’t start until the completion of Crossrail in the capital.

He said: “Why is the new line being built from London up and not at both ends? If it is the right thing to do – and for us it is an economic no-brainer – why delay?  The longer the delay the more chance it won’t happen.”

To download our 30-page supplement, sponsored by Baker Tilly, MIDAS, Pannone and Santander Corporate & Commercial Banking Click here.