Stoke’s HS2 bid must receive proper consideration says Shadow Minister
STOKE-ON-TRENT’S bid to get an HS2 station when the route of the £50bn high speed rail scheme is decided should receive proper consideration, Labour’s Shadow Rail Minister has said.
Lillian Greenwood visited the city to hear more about its bid and afterwards she said: “It’s vital that their submission to Government is fully considered as part of the consultation on Phase 2 of the line.”
The city council has prepared a bid which it believes provides maximum value for the taxpayer. It also has the support of the city’s business community.
The Stoke plan would, the city council claims, deliver high speed links between Birmingham and Manchester and beyond, cheaper, earlier and with less environmental impact than other proposals on the table.
It would also create the most jobs and economic growth.
Council leader Mohammed Pervez said: “It is in the national interest that our HS2 proposals are given equal consideration and resourcing. The Shadow Minister was firmly in agreement.
“We know that HS2 Ltd is already working up plans for Crewe. If the project is to deliver on the promise of connecting our centres of industry and maximising the nation’s economic capacity, then the Stoke route must be given equal treatment.
“Failing to do this would be a massive disservice to the British taxpayer.”
His colleague, Cllr Ruth Rosenau said the high speed link would plug the city into a super economy, joining Birmingham and Manchester and through to West Yorkshire.
“The Stoke-on-Trent option maximises the connections for growth and delivers everything the other routes offer and more. This would supercharge the city and take growth in Stoke-on-Trent to a whole new level. We have the ambition and the capacity to maximise the benefits of HS2 to the nation,” she said.
“The city is already accelerating out of the recession faster than almost any other in the UK. It’s becoming a centre of learning and research, and a centre for sustainable energy and advanced materials technology. Failure to plug into the city’s growth potential would be an enormous loss for UK Plc.”
