Sheffield leader calls for HS2 plan change

Coun Julie Dore insisted putting the proposed station for services in the city centre was the only way to maximise the North’s economic potential.

With a final decision expected in the autumn, the authority is stepping up its campaign arguing that the current plan to put the station at Meadowhall contradicts wider plans for the North economy which focus on improving connections between major centres.

The council is also arguing that emerging plans for transpennine high speed rail services, dubbed HS3, reinforce the case for a city centre station.

Coun Dore said: “We need a fast, connected transport network, where HS2 and HS3 are seamlessly linked, to enable people to move between Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester and London quickly and easily.

“A HS2 station out of town, in a distant parkway location some six miles from a HS3 station in Sheffield city centre, simply doesn’t make sense – geographically or economically.”