Preparing to live with HS2: Minister pledges to listen to residents' concerns

Phase 2a of the controversial line, which will carve through Staffordshire and skirt Shropshire on its way to Crewe, received Royal Assent this week, despite concerns over costs and environmental damage.

Work on the first phase between London and Birmingham has already begun and the Government insists the line will be vital in connecting the capital to the Midlands and eventually to the north.

Speaking to the Star, Transport Minister Andrew Stephenson said HS2 would also be a major boost for the West Midlands economy after the pandemic, creating thousands of jobs and bringing huge investment to the region.

And he insisted the line was not about "trading off the environment against economic growth", saying he would do all he can to mitigate damage to the region's countryside.

Mr Stephenson said the line was a long term investment that would massively improve rail travel across the country, freeing up capacity on existing lines and taking freight travel off the roads.

He said he wants people who are directly impacted by the route – including those hit by construction traffic – to be "treated more fairly and get a better service from HS2".

'We will listen' says minister

It has been a year since Boris Johnson ended months of speculation and gave HS2 the go ahead, saying the project would “fix the spine” of Britain’s rail network.

This week the second phase of the controversial line from the West Midlands to Crewe was approved, much to the relief of business leaders and politicians who feared the arguments against it were starting to gain traction.

With Phase 2a and the line’s first section from London to Birmingham both not set to open to passengers for at least another nine years, opposition to HS2 won’t be disappearing anytime soon.

Opponents insist it will destroy the environment and raise carbon emissions. Others say its spiralling cost – now expected to be well upwards of £100 billion – is hard to justify, particularly at a time when working patterns have changed drastically due to Covid. And for those caught up in the construction, there is the prospect of years of lorries thundering through their neighbourhood to look forward to.

But Ministers clearly see the latest milestone as a chance to build momentum behind the project.

Transport Minister Andrew Stephenson is well aware of the difficulties that have plagued HS2 since its inception. He says he knows the issues faced by people in parts of Staffordshire and Shropshire impacted by the line.

In fact, he says the Prime Minister made it clear when he appointed him to the role that one of his main jobs was to forge stronger relationships with such communities.

“Mitigating impacts on local communities and on the environment, that is something that is really close to his heart,” Mr Stephenson told the Star. “The line goes through his constituency and he meets with property owners who are impacted by it. He really does get it.”

Mr Stephenson says he hopes people are treated “more fairly and get a better service” from HS2 following a review into how the company conducts compulsory purchase orders. He insists the route has “avoided” ancient woodland where possible, and points out that around 78 hectares of new woodland and more than seven million trees are being planted in a bid to balance out the effect on the environment.

“We are trying to improve how we deal with individual communities and land and property owners,” he said. “The mitigation that is going on is world class. It is inevitable and it is regrettable that any construction project of this scale – and this is the largest in Europe – will have some impacts which are unavoidable.

“I see HS2 and the construction of HS2 as a really important part of our decarbonisation of the transport network, and I see the way that we are constructing it as being one of the most environmentally responsible infrastructure projects this country has ever seen. This isn’t about trading off the environment against economic growth.”

It is this expectation of economic growth that Mr Stephenson touts as the key selling point of the line in the West Midlands.

He references the West Midlands Combined Authority growth strategy report, released last week, which predicts HS2 will lead to the creation of 175,000 jobs and inward investment of more than £20bn.

This investment will spread from Birmingham to the wider region, he says, with HS2 becoming “one of the biggest recruiters in the years ahead.

And while critics claim the pandemic has reduced the need for high speed rail, with rail journeys plummeting and more people working from home, Mr Stephenson believes it has strengthened the case for it.

“This is a long term investment in improving the infrastructure across the country,” he said.

“If you look at our existing rail infrastructure, much of it was built in the Victorian era. We have to thank the Victorians for what they did, because they were really looking forward into the future. I think HS2 is doing the same thing. This is about creating a new spine for the country’s rail network, it’s about freeing up capacity on existing lines, allowing more freight to be taken off the roads to be transferred by conventional rail, so it’s helping us meet our climate change ambitions and helping us increase capacity. It ticks an awful lot of boxes.

“Even if Covid depresses passenger numbers for the next few years, this is an investment for the long term, and certainly by the time the first phase opens in about 10 years time, I would fully expect us to be back to growing numbers of people wanting to use the nation’s railways.”

With the project having previously been hampered by delays and soaring budgets, Mr Stephenson says ensuring it is delivered on cost and on schedule “is very much the focus of the Government now”.

He said emerging cost pressures were now reviewed on a monthly basis.

He added: “We know the programme has been criticised in the past for cost overruns.

“I am going to have a laser-like focus on ensuring we deliver the programme on time and on budget.”

But those costs, he concedes, are still not set in stone.

Estimates of the budget for Phase 2a run from £5m to £14bn, with Ministers set to formally price it up ahead of publishing a full business case later this year.

He is also confident that the eastern leg of the line – which passes through the East Midlands on its way from Birmingham to Leeds – will get built, following months of speculation that it would be scrapped.

The Government’s position would be made clear once the upcoming Integrated Rail Plan was published, he said, before pointing out that Mr Johnson had pledged to develop “the whole of HS2” during PMQs last week.

“I think it is important to extend the line into the East Midlands and up,” he said, “but people can certainly take heart in what the Prime Minister said.”