Regions need to take control of HS3, says planning expert
A TOP planning expert in Yorkshire has said that the regions need to take control of a proposed high speed rail line between Manchester and Leeds and move the focus away from Westminster.
Speaking to TheBusinessDesk.com, Howard Bassford, an infrastructure planning partner at law firm DLA Piper, says that the debate for the viability of the line, dubbed HS3, should be led by council leaders and regional transport executives.
His comments come as Chancellor George Osborne ignited the HS3 debate in a speech in Manchester this week where he described his vision for a ‘northern powerhouse’.
“It needs to be taken away from party politics, and the regions need to ask themselves ‘Is this something we want and can we deliver it without waiting for Westminster?'”, says Mr Bassford.
“The question is for regional, not just national politicians, and there is a real opportunity for them to promote it.
“Take the Mersey Gateway project for example, a huge scheme that was promoted by Halton Borough Council, one of the smallest authorities in the UK.
“Because HS2 has to go through parliament it has become exposed to sniping and a party political issue, whereas for the regions it could be fairly uncontroversial.
“It is conceivable that HS3 could be delivered before HS2 and that is certainly worth considering,” he says.
Mr Bassford says the business case for HS3 is not just based on a few minutes being shaved off a journey from Leeds to Manchester, but the uplift in land values and economic activity.
“Growth stimulated by major infrastructure is where projects justify themselves,” he said.
Mr Bassford said the regions have a tendency to complain that “London and the South East get all the money” which has recently been inflamed by reports that transport spending per head of capita in London and the South East is twice that of the rest of the country.
“What they should be asking is ‘How much are we dependent on Westminster, how can we make the proposal more certain and how can we deliver it?”
Mr Bassford points to London’s Cross Rail scheme. Cross Rail Ltd, a 50/50 joint venture company between Transport for London and the Department for Transport, was formed to develop and promote the scheme, until December 2008 when full ownership was transferred to TfL.
“This is a classic example of city leaders taking control, putting forward an economic case, which gets the ball rolling so then the delivery of such a scheme can become a reality.”
Meanwhile, a survey released today by business advisory firm KPMG has revealed that businesses across the north view investment in the region’s rail infrastructure as the number one stimulus that will transform the region’s economic prospects over the next 10 years.
The firm’s annual Business Instincts Survey, a poll of 108 senior executives from companies across the region, found that projects such as HS2 and the Northern Hub were predicted to bring the most significant benefit to the region’s economy over the course of the next decade.
