YP Comment: High-speed rail back on track - Plans promise huge benefits

Yorkshire needs this major infrastructure project if our economy is to thrive in the decades ahead. The Yorkshire Post has long championed high-speed rail, and it is heartening to see it take another step towards becoming reality.

There is much to welcome in the detailed plans for the network. Sheffield city centre will be linked to the HS2 route, rather than a station being built at Meadowhall.

Equally welcome is confirmation of a link between HS2 and the HS3 route across the Pennines. For too long, there has been a strange disconnect between the two projects, despite it being apparent that the trans-Pennine link was vital to the success of the Northern Powerhouse proposals.

There is good news too for the communities affected by HS2, who will now have access to compensation schemes. Similarly, the decision to send the line through a tunnel at Woodlesford, instead of across a viaduct, is a victory for the residents who campaigned for that to happen.

Their success should give some hope to the people of South Yorkshire whose homes are currently under threat that changes may be made that will allay their concerns.

Better communication of the benefits of high-speed rail is central to addressing the concerns of people whose homes lie along its route, and where there are challenges they should be handled more sensitively than has sometimes been the case so far.

But ultimately, local issues with the route cannot be allowed to stand in the way of a project which will be of immense benefit to future generations. There has been enough uncertainty and dithering over HS2. Now we need firm action to make it a reality.

Devolution - Region must speak as one

BUSINESS and local government leaders across Yorkshire need no convincing of the merits of devolution. Their quibble is with the political squabbles that go with it.

The call by local government leaders from across the country for further devolution to local communities after we leave the European Union will be welcomed in our region. Each of the four quarters of Yorkshire has its own distinctive identity, challenges and needs, yet they have much in common. More unites West, East South and North Yorkshire than divides them.

Whilst a debate about how best to deliver devolution is necessary, one thing is clear. Yorkshire’s great strength is its collective identity, which is the most potent and identifiable brand of any region in the country.

We are strongest when we speak up for the county with a single voice, and much more likely to be listened to by the Government than if Whitehall hears a discord of competing claims. Political quarrels about the form of devolution are a frustration to the business community, which is keen to maximise the opportunities for the benefit of the whole region.

And it is those opportunities that should be kept at the forefront of the minds of everybody involved in debating how best to deliver devolution not only for those living in our cities but also our rural heartlands. We have many great assets but surely our greatest is the Yorkshire brand itself.

Regional control of funds, and the power to decide where money is spent to create the best outcome for the maximum number of people is the tempting prize on offer. It is ours for the taking if we are united.

Supermarket trends - Figures may spell trouble

THESE are testing times for supermarkets, caught in a pincer movement between changing shopping habits and the rise of the German discounters Aldi and Lidl.

While there was some good news yesterday for Bradford-based Morrisons, questions swirl around the big four chains that have dominated grocery shopping for so long.

The way people shop has changed, with fewer making a once-weekly visit to the supermarket to stock up. Consumer concern about traceability and food miles has given a welcome boost to independent retailers, which has helped traditional shopping parades maintain their vibrancy and appeal.

There must be a concern that yesterday’s sales figures from the big four may be an indication of looming economic difficulties ahead, especially with the continuing threat of a rise in inflation.

If that is the case, then it is a worry not just for hard-pressed shoppers facing higher prices, but for the Government as well.