High Speed Rail

This article profiles the latest twist and turn in this evolving story – it tells us:

“David Cameron is braced for a fresh Tory rebellion – and possible ministerial resignations – when the final route of the £34 billion High Speed Rail link between London and Birmingham is confirmed within weeks.  The current proposed route – which would see the HS2 line cutting through the Chiltern Hills and other areas of fine English countryside – is expected to be announced as the final decision by Justine Greening, the Transport Secretary, next month.

An alternative route which would see HS2 going directly to Heathrow airport and using more existing transport “corridors” was put forward by Labour this month and attracted the support of some Tory MPs.  However, The Sunday Telegraph has learned that David Cameron, George Osborne, the Chancellor, and Miss Greening, all agree that the current proposed route is the “best option.”

As someone born during Harold Wilson’s “White Heat of Technology” era the idea of a superfast train which shrinks distances and re-distributes economic development more widely, helping the success of Londonto ripple out to other key settlements appeals of me conceptually. I miss the real mini, the hovercraft and concord (not that I could afford to use the latter and I was violently sick as a consequence of the former).

 I also know however how unintended consequences can arise from big public sector infrastructure schemes- then there is the environmental trade off to consider….. It does seem to me there is an environmental “double bind” here with the need to balance the environmental benefits of something which offers to reduce car and short haul air flights in the long term against the impact on some important landscapes of the development.

One thing is absolutely certain in my mind and this relates not just toBirminghambut also to its broader economic and rural hinterland – theWest Midlandsdesperately needs some long term investment to boost its economic performance. I will be interested to see what its LEPs plan to spend their short term “Growing Places” windfall on and how much of it takes account of the rural context of the region.