Meadowhall, Victoria and Shimmer: Twists and turns of HS2 through South Yorkshire

THE route phase 2 of HS2 will take through South Yorkshire has proved one of the most controversial aspects of whole project and the debate over its impact has encapsulated many of the broader issues involved.
By The Newsroom
Published 15th Nov 2016, 12:35 BST
Updated 16th Nov 2016, 17:22 BST
The preferred route for the northern extension of HS2 and the locatation in Mexborough where a new housing estate faces demolition.The preferred route for the northern extension of HS2 and the locatation in Mexborough where a new housing estate faces demolition.
The preferred route for the northern extension of HS2 and the locatation in Mexborough where a new housing estate faces demolition.

The original plan to build a brand new station to serve Sheffield and its region next to the M1 at the Meadowhall shopping centre caused outrage in the city.

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The city council and a range of business organisations argued it was madness to locate the new hub three miles to the east of the centre of one of the UK’s biggest cities, especially as it was part of an infrastructure project partly designed to inject vitality into northern conurbations.

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The preferred route for the northern extension of HS2 and the locatation in Mexborough where a new housing estate faces demolition.The preferred route for the northern extension of HS2 and the locatation in Mexborough where a new housing estate faces demolition.
The preferred route for the northern extension of HS2 and the locatation in Mexborough where a new housing estate faces demolition.

A well organised local campaign was mounted to bring the route into the centre of Sheffield.

Many advocated using the site of the abandoned Victoria Station. The station, which was closed in 1970, looked down from the city from a viaduct about a half-a-mile from the current mainline station.

But, when a change of plan was announced earlier this year involving a proposal to build a spur into Sheffield city centre using existing routes and scrap the Meadowhall station, the celebrations in Sheffield Town Hall were matched by the dismay from many groups in the rest of South Yorkshire.

Many businesses and politicians in Rotherham and Doncaster said the Meadowhall option, with its direct link to the M1 and its central location, would have been a better hub for the whole of the region.

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The preferred route for the northern extension of HS2 and the locatation in Mexborough where a new housing estate faces demolition.The preferred route for the northern extension of HS2 and the locatation in Mexborough where a new housing estate faces demolition.
The preferred route for the northern extension of HS2 and the locatation in Mexborough where a new housing estate faces demolition.

Even more contentious was HS2 Ltd’s ancillary proposal to re-route the project further east - away from the M1 corridor - which meant creating a whole new corridor of controversy through the heart of South Yorkshire.

The decision plunged a new group of communities into uncertainty. The most high profile of these was the residents of the brand new Shimmer housing estate on the Doncaster side of the town of Mexborough.

The developers of the newly completed site, Strata, said they were “shocked” by the news and their newly-moved-in customers could not believe what they were being told.

Related topics:SheffieldSouth YorkshireMeadowhallHS2