Business and civic leaders welcome HS2 jobs pledge

BUSINESS and civic leaders have welcomed the announcement by Chancellor George Osborne that thousands of jobs are to be created in Birmingham with the development of the new HS2 rail link.

Mr Osborne said during a visit to Birmingham that 8,000 permanent jobs would be created in and around the city as a result of the £17bn project – 4,500 of them at Curzon Street alone.

Mr Osborne said the job figures were based on the findings of an independent new study into the employment impact of the new railway.

Neil Rami, chief executive of Marketing Birmingham, which manages Business Birmingham, the city’s inward investment programme, said: “Although very much a long-term prospect, the Chancellor’s confirmation of 8,000 local jobs demonstrates the confidence the Government has in the West Midlands’ workforce, specifically within the advanced engineering sector.  

“We must now look to further cultivate the city’s skills base in this area and ensure the next generation are equipped to service demand.”  

Mr Rami said the Government’s ongoing support for the HS2 project was essential if more foreign investment was to be attracted the city.

“Birmingham’s central UK location and transport links feature highly in our discussions with potential investors and improvements are vital to our competitive advantage,” he added.

Cllr Mike Whitby, leader of Birmingham City Council, welcomed the announcement and said the local authority would continue to lobby for the rail link’s national engineering and maintenance depots to be based in the city, which would bring hundreds more jobs.

“Birmingham City Council was an early and influential backer of the HS2 proposals, which as these figures prove, will bring significant economic benefits to the city, region and wider national economy. As the Chancellor has said, this is a project that is of national importance,” he said.
 
“For Birmingham, High Speed Rail will be transformational. The economic impact alone will be formidable – conservatively estimated to be around £1.2bn – whilst the reputational enhancement will also be considerable.
 
“There is no doubt High Speed Rail will drive business growth for Birmingham by providing increased connections to other businesses and markets. It will be a vital weapon in our arsenal as we look to compete with Europe’s leading cities, many of which already benefit from similar infrastructure.”

The Chancellor’s visit comes ahead of the launch on February 28 of formal public consultation on the overall HS2scheme. The consultation will run until July 2011.