Anger as Labour blocks plans to revive station for high-speed rail

proposals to earmark a site for a new high-speed rail station in a Yorkshire city centre have sparked a row amid accusations the idea was being stifled.

Liberal Democrats on Sheffield Council last week launched a campaign to revive the city’s Victoria Station to serve the Government’s High Speed Two (HS2) rail project.

But at a meeting of the full council yesterday, the controlling Labour group tabled an amendment to the proposal, ruling no location should be named because the process is at an early stage.

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Last month, the Government confirmed that after the first phase of HS2 is completed between London and Birmingham in 2026 the second phases from Birmingham to Manchester and from Birmingham to Sheffield and Leeds will follow by 2033.

Coun Ian Auckland, the Liberal Democrats’ transport and environment spokesman, said he was “mystified” as to why Labour had chosen to “stifle” their idea.

He added: “The site has potential for regeneration and we think it’s worth considering for when HS2 arrives in South Yorkshire – nothing more and nothing less.

“Obviously HS2 will be a good thing for the city and South Yorkshire and we are simply pointing out this is an excellent site where a station could be developed.”

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Sheffield’s Victoria Station, close to the site of the city’s Royal Victoria Hotel, closed in 1970 and was demolished. It is thought the Government is considering sites outside Sheffield city centre to allow a new station to serve South Yorkshire’s other towns.

Coun Auckland added: “We are not jumping to any conclusions. We realise that there is a great deal more detailed work to be done.

“But I think the regenerative effects of high-speed rail projects are well documented if you look across the world and we are disappointed that the Labour group is not backing the idea.”

Yesterday’s station debate in Sheffield came as transport chiefs in West Yorkshire agreed to press a business case which could see the benefits of HS2 arrive in the region earlier than originally planned.

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West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority (WYITA) has backed work which aims to persuade the Government to build a link between the London to Birmingham high-speed line and the existing Midland Main Line.

West Yorkshire’s public transport body Metro has drawn up the case, which would involve HS2 trains joining the Midland Main Line in Staffordshire and then travelling on through the East Midlands to Sheffield and Leeds.

“Engineering this short link to the Midland Main Line route, which is expected to be electrified, means trains could start running through to Yorkshire as soon as the London to Birmingham stage of HS2 is complete,” said ITA chairman Coun James Lewis.

“The regional economic benefits of being part of the new network through the Midland mainline, even before the full high-speed line to Leeds is built, are huge.”

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Meanwhile, landowners and occupiers affected by HS2 were yesterday told they would be offered an initial £1,000 access payment to allow contractors on to their land during route development.

The National Farmers Union and the Country Land & Business Association announced the deal with HS2 Ltd, the company set up to start the project.

The payments will cover a “voluntary early access licence” for environmental impact assessment only and will be split between landlord and tenant where the land is tenanted.

On top of the £1,000, HS2 Ltd has agreed to pay for damage done or losses caused and to consider additional payments if further environmental surveys are required.

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The agreement covers land on the London to Birmingham route but the NFU and CLA expect to similar arrangements in Yorkshire when the time comes.

Yorkshire CLA organiser Dorothy Fairburn said: “Many CLA members would rather HS2 was dropped, but now it is confirmed we owe them a duty of care to ensure work is carried out with as little damage and loss as possible.”

NFU President Peter Kendall said: “This agreement is a positive first step in making sure that the Government sticks to its promises on compensation.”