Commons red tape blocking up economy says HS2 chief

Sir David Higgins said he believes Parliament now represents the chief obstacle to high-speed rail arriving in the North several years sooner than the planned 2033 completion date.

Speaking at the launch of the new chairman’s review of HS2 yesterday, town hall bosses from the North warned MPs against “dithering” over legislation instead of getting on and building the £50bn high-speed line.

Sir David’s report recommends pressing ahead with the Parliamentary Bill for Phase Two of the project – linking the Midlands and the North – in 2017, so bringing forward the project’s completion date three years to 2030.

Sir David – an Australian national – said it was now time to “challenge Parliament” to move ahead quickly with the second phase.

“The legislative process constipates infrastructure in this country,” Sir David said. “Why can’t you have more than one (infrastructure) Bill in Parliament at once?”

Sir David, who previously oversaw the successful delivery of the 2012 London Olympics, warned that any further delay in Westminster would make the project still more expensive, and said the lengthy Committee Stage which infrastructure Bills pass through will “invariably add huge costs”.

Sir Richard Leese, the leader of Manchester City Council said: “There is a very clear message to our national politicians that the biggest risk in terms of potential overspends is not the construction of HS2; it is Parliamentarians dithering and not getting on with the decision-making.”

The report was welcomed by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin and Chancellor George Osborne, who said they would implement its key recommendations including the scrapping of the link to HS1 in North London and the construction of a new transport hub at Crewe.

Call for North to unite for HS2: Page 8.