Axing of Golborne Link impacts levelling up and the Green Agenda

The North West will miss out on key benefits of both the levelling up and the Green agendas following Transport Minister Andrew Stephenson’s announcement that the HS2 Golborne Link connecting Crewe and Manchester will no longer go ahead.

The 13-mile link, starting north of Warrington would have connected the Crewe to Manchester branch of HS2 to the West Coast Main Line (WCML), the strategic network running from London to Glasgow and through the heart of the North West.

The cancellation of this leg follows the abandonment of the eastern leg of HS2 to Leeds - which already impacts on the long term opportunities for economic and social growth across the North.

Commented Guy Lawson, Consultant to the Civil Engineering Contractors Association in the North West, ‘The potential that HS2 offers to the North West has always been far greater than shortening journey times. Bringing about better connectivity would directly boost northern economies, while increasing capacity for rail freight would dramatically improve road travel across the North. This disappointing decision makes it difficult now to envisage HS2’s full potential being achieved.’

Research published by the Civil Engineering Contractors Association found that for each 1,000 jobs that are directly created in infrastructure construction, employment as a whole rises by 3,053 jobs. Furthermore, for each £1 billion increase in infrastructure investment, UK-wide GDP increases by a total of £1.299 billion and for every £1 billion of infrastructure construction increases overall economic activity by £2.842 billion.

What is particularly disappointing about the dismissal of the Golborne Link is that its funding was already confirmed in HS2’s budget, because of its vital importance to the future movement of passengers and freight efficiently across the UK.

While Sir Peter Hendy, Chairman of Network Rail alongside Transport Secretary Grant Shapps in their joint review of the railway network did not recognise all the proposed benefits of the Golborne Link, its axing now creates substantial challenges for the future movement of freight. It is now difficult to imagine freight being transferred from road to rail, and the environmental benefits that would achieve, since the WCML is running at near capacity with passenger services.

What is needed now to protect levelling up across the North is for the £3bn of savings from the cancelled Golborne Link to be immediately reassigned to the Northern Powerhouse Rail project. This will achieve an arguably greater and more immediate impact on levelling up in the North.

For significant levelling up to be achieved across the North, the Government is reliant on the expertise of civil engineering firms to deliver the requisite infrastructure and this latest decision creates uncertainty for those contractors equipped and ready to deliver it, as well as those communities hoping to benefit.

We are at a pivotal moment in our history. If our Government does not now seize the mettle we will all lose out on the opportunity to transform how we live and work once and for all.