Decision on HS2's future 'needs to be fact-based' says Transport Secretary Grant Shapps

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the "massive decision" on whether to go ahead with HS2 "needs to be fact-based".

He told Sky News: "I asked Doug Oakervee to do that report and said to him 'give me the facts, give me the data, give us the information so we can make a proper informed decision'.

"I've always approached this from a relatively neutral point of view and that information will help to inform a decision that is best for the whole country."

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Mr Shapps said he has asked officials in his department to provide further data relating to the project.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps visits Leeds Train Station. Photo: Danny Lawson/PA WireTransport Secretary Grant Shapps visits Leeds Train Station. Photo: Danny Lawson/PA Wire
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps visits Leeds Train Station. Photo: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

He added: "We'll be making a final decision, along with the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, on this very shortly."

It comes after the widely-leaked Oakervee Review found HS2 could cost up to £106bn.

It reportedly found reportedly found there is "considerable risk" that the high-speed rail project's cost will rise by up to 20% beyond the £81 billion to £88 billion range set out in a report by current HS2 chairman Allan Cook just four months ago.

HS2 was allocated £56 billion in 2015.

Stock photo of HS2. Photo: HS2 LtdStock photo of HS2. Photo: HS2 Ltd
Stock photo of HS2. Photo: HS2 Ltd
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Mr Oakervee's review recommends that work on phase 2b of HS2 from the West Midlands to Manchester and Leeds should be paused for six months to investigate if it could be a mix of conventional and high-speed lines, according to the Financial Times, which has seen a copy of the paper.

The review concluded that the Government should "on balance" continue with the 250mph railway, which would initially go from London's Euston station to Birmingham and then to Leeds and Manchester by 2040, but that this is subject to "a number of qualifications".

It said "further work" is needed to assess HS2's impact on regional growth, and warned it is "hard" to say what economic benefits will result from building it.

"Transport investment alone will not 'rebalance' the UK economy," the review adds.

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Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham described the leak as "quite worrying" and claimed the use of conventional lines in the North would be a "second-class option".

And Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Lead, said: “It is time to bring the damaging speculation around HS2 to an end with the prompt publication of the Oakervee Review and an unambiguous Government commitment to deliver the project in full. Anything less, including downgrading HS2 north of Birmingham, would seriously damage this Government’s claim to be levelling-up the North and Midlands.

“After decades of underinvestment in strategic rail infrastructure, HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail integrated together represent a once-in-a-generation chance to transform connectivity, attract investment, boost skills and opportunity and level-up communities across the North.

“Transforming rail capacity and connectivity in the North and Midlands will create economic growth, improve productivity, boost jobs and skills, increase prosperity and support a transition to a low-carbon economy.”

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While British Chambers of Commerce Director General Adam Marshall said: “Our business communities want to see HS2 delivered in full without further delay."

The chief executives of Balfour Beatty, Skanska and Morgan Sindall were among the signatories to a letter to Boris Johnson, seen by The Times, which urged him to approve the scheme and noted that it would take "many years to get an equivalent pipeline of work in place" if HS2 was cancelled.

But a group of more than a dozen Tory MPs will reportedly meet the Prime Minister in the coming days to urge him to block HS2 and spend the money on other projects.

Alexander Stafford, Conservative MP for Rother Valley, commented: “This once again shows the skyrocketing costs of HS2 with the budget doubling in less than five years. This obscene waste of money must be stopped, and instead the resource should be ploughed into transport infrastructure that we actually need in the North. It’s time to change track, and fully connect the communities of Rother Valley. We need to protect our homes, wildlife and woodlands across South Yorkshire from this senseless vandalism.”

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Mr Johnson is expected to decide within weeks whether to go ahead with construction on the first phase of what would be Europe's largest infrastructure project.

The review said savings to the £106bn figure could be made by having the private sector contribute to funding HS2 stations, lowering specifications and improving the "cost performance of the management".

It also stated that no other high-speed line in the world runs 18 trains per hour, and recommends reducing HS2's frequency to 14.

Northern Powerhouse Partnership Director, Henri Murison added: “Clearly we will have to wait to see if this leak is genuine. But all of the signals coming out of the official, thorough review by respected figures suggest that the only way we can truly hope to level up the UK economy and create the same opportunities for businesses and young people in the North and the Midlands as in London and the South East is in this year giving the green light to continue HS2.

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"We have recommended that further analysis on regional growth benefits due to the previous understatement of these, and we agree there is further work needed which we believe should be based on further developing existing city region based HS2 growth plans on a consistent basis."