How HS2 can transform North’s economy – Yorkshire Post Letters

From: David Reed, Mirfield.
Will HS2 be good for Yorkshire - or not?Will HS2 be good for Yorkshire - or not?
Will HS2 be good for Yorkshire - or not?

LORD Adonis is right to urge the Government not to cancel the eastern leg of HS2 to Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds (The Yorkshire Post, October 19).

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People opposed to the scheme always fail to take into account the transformational effect it will have on the Northern economy.

Will HS2 be good for Yorkshire - or not?Will HS2 be good for Yorkshire - or not?
Will HS2 be good for Yorkshire - or not?

Let’s take a simple example. An investor is looking where to site a new factory or headquarters. Such investors are looking for a high degree of connectivity to other business centres and to our most important international airport – Heathrow.

At the moment the North is over two hours from the capital and from the important business hub of Birmingham and three hours from Heathrow. No thanks, says the investor.

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But if HS2 is built to this area, the journey time from London and Birmingham will be halved and from Heathrow reduced by two hours. Suddenly the North is much more attractive to the investor.

In the past we have seen time and time again how improvements to rail journey times boost the local economy.

Substantial growth is now taking place in Birmingham on the expectation of HS2.

We would be mad to let our region lose out to Manchester, which will benefit hugely by being linked to this 21st century railway.

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