23 Dec 2021
On the 11th February 2020 the Prime Minister gave HS2 the ‘green light’, he said that HS2 “would be delivered in full, on time and on budget”. It turns out that the actuality is rather different.
A ‘stocktake’ carried out by the then Chairman of HS2 Ltd Allan Cook, confirmed that the cost of HS2 has risen to £106bn, previously £98bn and the western leg of Phase 2b, (Crewe to Manchester) will not be operational until 2040 at the earliest. Previously it was going to be operational by 2033!
The long awaited Integrated Rail Plan has now been published and as expected it confirms that the eastern leg of Phase 2b is going to be scrapped. This latest announcement means that the three promises made by Boris Johnson in February 2020 have turned out to be completely untrue. Mr Johnson also said that HS2 Ltd would not be delivering the Euston and Phase 2b components of the HS2 project. This announcement was a clear acceptance that the much criticised company is failing in it’s duties and are not considered to be capable of building the most difficult and complex parts of the project.
Over 22 months on, HS2 Ltd are still building Euston AND are still planning the Crewe to Manchester leg of HS2. Mr Cook, the then Chairman of HS2 Ltd, resigned shortly after his ‘stocktake’ and left the company in July 2020. Over 14 months on, he has not been replaced!
HS2 is a failing project that is completely out of control, the Public Accounts Committee have designated it as ‘unachievable’ and yet our Councils continue to spend copious amounts of Council Tax payers’ money on it. Isn’t it about time that Cheshire East Council and Cheshire West and Chester Council did their own HS2 ‘stocktake’ and subsequently divert the money saved into the many public services that are currently severely underfunded, as well as funding urgent repairs to the County’s roads, that are quite literally falling apart in front of our eyes.
Miles Palmer
Mid Cheshire Against HS2
