Comment

Turley welcomes go-ahead for HS2

Our Head of Nationally Significant Infrastructure, David Diggle, welcomes the Government announcement on HS2 and discusses the main benefits and potential impact.

So, the Government has finally decided on HS2. The national infrastructure project has been one of the most divisive topics for a generation.

HS2 is a crucial piece of modern infrastructure. After the recent conversations surrounding its future, it is welcome news that the Government has confirmed the project will now go ahead. While it is not a silver bullet solution on its own, it provides an important foundation for spreading growth and prosperity across the UK. 

Much of the discourse around HS2 has focused on its ability to reduce journey times across the UK. However, the major benefit is its potential to improve rail capacity and connectivity at a time when this is badly needed across many regions. As a nation we are increasingly competing on a global scale and HS2 will accommodate more trains per hour than any other high-speed line in the world while releasing capacity on our existing rail network for shorter-distance passenger and freight trains. This improved connectivity can help boost growth across the country. Meanwhile, the new stations that will be built as part of the project could become significant economic hubs, capable of delivering transformative growth along the whole route.

Advocates of the project will now need to keep pressure on the Government to ensure phase two of the project – extending the line to Manchester and Leeds – is delivered without significant delay. This is necessary to achieving a measurable rebalancing of the north-south divide. It is crucial that HS2 is supplemented by additional investment in the North and the Midlands. Delivering Northern Powerhouse Rail and providing investment for the Midlands Engine are two equally important components of this and should be delivered locally through devolution.

There will be many who view the project as a license to garner unnecessary destruction of our countryside. Lessons regarding environmental stewardship and mitigation need to be learned, and fast. The Government must ensure that the project is cost effective, environmental impacts are minimised as much as possible and meet or even exceed their own expectations on zero carbon and net gains in biodiversity.

By the time HS2 comes to fruition I’ll nearly be eligible for my Senior Rail Card, but the investment we make now will be appreciated by many generations to come and these benefits are incalculable.

To discuss HS2 or other nationally significant infrastructure projects please get in touch with David Diggle.  

12 February 2020