Commenting on the Prime Minister’s announcement to scrap HS2, Babs Murphy, CEO of the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, said:
“This news is clearly disappointing in terms of the infrastructure of the existing rail network in the northwest, though it is not surprising given weeks of speculation.
“HS2 would not only have brought more potential contracts to the Lancashire supply chain but also have re-invigorated an economy which has suffered in a post-pandemic world. Our hope now is the government comes up with a clear and concise framework for future investment in a railway which has remained largely unchanged since Victorian times, to provide cost management and support a transport system for the north which can be delivered.”
Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the BCC, said: “Following recent speculation, businesses remained hopeful that the Prime Minister would listen to their calls to push on and deliver the long-term infrastructure this country needs.
“This is disappointing news for them and our economy as cancelling the second phase of HS2 will massively impact the country’s rail network.
“Without this vital additional capacity, any plans to improve the UK’s freight and passenger services will be restricted.
“We will be left with a rail system unable to effectively connect all our regional economies.
“Each HS2 train would have removed up to 129 lorries from the road, this will also be a lost opportunity to build a low-carbon freight transport system.
“And it will affect our global trade: one in four sea containers arriving or departing from a port is carried by rail, and additional capacity is urgently needed. When we talk about growth, we mean trade. Our global partners must trust that we can move not only at speed but with capacity.
“Businesses and regional governments will now be scratching their heads as they work out how to fill the hole left in their strategic plans by the loss of HS2’s further phases.
“Government must quickly set out the detail of its new plans, especially around timescales and the release of funds for the new projects it has put forward today.
“It must also urgently revisit the functioning of our planning system, as so much of the delay and cost around HS2 has come from its inability to cope with a large-scale infrastructure project. Let’s learn the lessons from HS2; let’s make sure these new promises are deliverable before we spend another penny of taxpayers’ money.”
