Tories must drop 'knee jerk' sale of land for axed HS2 route warns top adviser

18 October 2023 , 15:42

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Rishi Sunak abandoned plans for the northern phase of HS2 at Tory conference earlier this month (Image: PA)

The Tories should ditch plans to quickly sell off land earmarked for the scrapped HS2 routes, the Government's independent adviser on infrastructure has said.

Sir John Armitt warned that it would be a "mistake" to sell the land in a rush after Rishi Sunak betrayed the north by scrapping plans to extend the high speed rail line to Manchester to save cash. Land on the abandoned route north of Birmingham was protected to prevent conflicting developments - but the Department for Transport has now lifted the restrictions.

"Any property that is no longer required for HS2 will be sold and a programme is being developed to do this," the department said. But Sir John, the chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission, told the Government it needed "a proper consideration about how best we can connect Birmingham and Manchester and give us that improved capacity that we still need".

He told the BBC : "I think it's a mistake. I think that the land should be kept for at least two or three years to give the opportunity for people to revisit that and look at what can be done within that space and find a more cost-effective solution, not write it off today. I am disappointed because I think it's what we often describe as a sort of knee-jerk, snap reaction."

The PM desperately tried to deflect criticism of his decision to axe HS2’s northern leg by diverting the £36billion earmarked for the Birmingham to Manchester route to other transport schemes. But his new 'Network North' blueprint included reheated announcements, some completed years earlier and many that are not even in the North.

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Sir John said a full evaluation was needed to develop it into a "well-thought-through, integrated plan for the future". "We had an integrated plan a few weeks ago, we've now lost that," he said. "There are a number of projects, some of which already existed, some new ones. Let's get those properly turned into a well-thought-through, integrated plan for the future."

A Government spokesperson said: "Delivering high-quality infrastructure is the foundation of our future growth. Our Network North plan will deliver the transport that matters most to people, and we're adopting a fairer and more pragmatic approach to meeting net zero that supports households and families to make greener choices whilst easing the burdens on working people.

"We are delivering over £600bn of planned public sector investment in infrastructure, R&D and defence over the next five years, including an unprecedented package to improve connections in our city regions and billions to decarbonise buildings."

Lizzy Buchan