09 Dec 2021 to Guardian Newspapers
On 11 February 2020, Boris Johnson informed the House of Commons that HS2 Ltd would NOT be the delivery partner for Phase 2b. Yet here we are, the best part of a year later – and with the eastern leg scrapped – and not a whisper about an alternative to HS2 Ltd? Does Boris think that we all forgotten his statement?
And where is the revised business case? What remains of HS2 Phase 2b (the Crewe to Manchester leg) is going to be high cost and low speed. There are no plans to deliver the faster and more affordable commuter journeys we need, as an alternative to having to travel by car out of necessity.
We urge readers to clamour to our MPs for clarity about who is going to deliver HS2 in Cheshire, and to demand a realistic, revised post-Covid business plan.
And finally: the UK’s 25th energy supplier has just gone bust. Energy security is surely a priority now, so why have we allowed HS2 to deprive us of the storage that had already been granted approval? King Street Energy in Middlewich would have added five days – 50% – to our existing meagre 10 days’ worth of national gas storage.
We have a plea for all readers: please write to your MP to ask them who is going to deliver HS2; where is the missing revised business case; and what is their position on energy security? And do share their replies with the readers of the Guardian series!
Sarah Flannery, Mid Cheshire Against HS2
