West Midlands Mayor ‘sincerely’ hopes investment reputation is intact

Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street told TheBusinessDesk.com that he “sincerely” hopes that the UK’s investment reputation is intact, following the cancellation of the HS2 line from Birmingham to Manchester.

Street returned to the West Midlands on Wednesday evening, to face questions from the region’s media.

The Conservative Mayor had already confirmed that he would remain in post but revealed that he was “close” to quitting. He was, however, adamant that he had never said he would consider resigning over the decision on HS2.

Outside of the Conservative Party Conference at The Midland in Manchester, Street said on Monday that the government “will indeed be damaging our international reputation as a place to invest” if it axed the line.

TheBusinessDesk.com asked Street if he believed the UK’s investment reputation was now in ruin.

He replied: “I sincerely hope not, because this is where the compromise is really important” and that plans for HS2 trains to go from Euston to the West Coast Mainline are “credible”.

“We are still right at the centre. There will be trains leaving Curzon Street going north as well as south – so I think that’s incredible.

“I think investors will be wanting to see where we are going next on this. This is about a network over the long term” he said.

Without Sunak’s ‘compromise’ however, he felt “no questions about it” that the reputation would have been damaged.

The Prime Minister said the government was redirecting the £36bn saved by scrapping the line into alternative transport, with the West Midlands benefitting from £9.7bn alone.

He confirmed that Phase One of HS2 will be delivered between Curzon Sreet and Euston, cutting the journey times from Birmingham to central London from around 80 minutes currently to 49 minutes. This will add extra capacity to the West Coast Main Line.

The Midlands Rail Hub has secured £1.75bn of increased investment to benefit more than 50 stations such as Cheltenham, Hereford, Nottingham, Nuneaton, and Leicester.

Sunak promised that services on most routes will increase by between 50 and 100%. Birmingham’s Cross-City line will be given a turn-up-and-go service with a train every 10 minutes.

The number of trains between Birmingham and Leicester will be doubled from two to four per hour, while additional trains are planned between Birmingham and Bristol. Bromsgrove should also see an additional three trains per hour.

Benefits for the West Midlands will include: