Report of the Strategic Director of Growth & Development

This report informs the Executive on the current progress of the High Speed (Crewe – Manchester) Bill (known as ‘HS2 Phase 2b’) in Parliament and outlines the key issues which the Council intend to petition against.

The Committee considered a report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) which provided an update on the progress of the High Speed (Crewe – Manchester) Bill (known as ‘HS2 Phase 2b’) in Parliament and outlined the key issues which the Council intended to petition against.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·                The Bill for Phase 2b would secure powers to implement new HS2 stations at Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport, and a railway tunnel from Davenport Green to Ardwick with ventilation shafts at Junction 3A of the M56, Withington Golf Club (Palatine Road), a site near the Christie Hospital (Wilmslow Road), and Fallowfield retail park (Birchfield Road) in addition to more specific powers;

·                The different stages that the Bill had been through in Parliament, including an Independent Assessors Report on consultations, a second reading of the Bill in the House of Commons and an Additional Provision 1 which made amendments outside of Manchester;

·                The most commonly raised issues, as summarised by the Independent Assessors Report, related to matters such as traffic and transport, ecology and biodiversity and community;

·                A possibility of a second Additional Provision being deposited to make changes within and the city, which the Council may need to petition against;

·                The Council’s petition against the proposed scheme must be submitted to Parliament on or before 4th August 2022;

·                The Council was reviewing the first Additional Provision to identify whether it should also submit a petition on that and would appear before the Select Committee once the petition is submitted;

·                It was expected that HS2 Ltd may negotiate with the Council during the petitioning process, and the Council would seek measures to remedy the concerns and issues outlined.

Some of the key points and queries that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

·                The Committee welcomed the report and Council’s position;

·                HS2 was an integral part of levelling-up in the North;

·                Closing the Ashton Metrolink line to enable the construction of a HS2 station at Piccadilly would create significant transport issues, particularly once the Co-op Live arena is open;

·                Had any feedback been received regarding the suggestion of constructing a Metrolink depot at Ashton Moss to enable the existing Ashton Metrolink line to remain open during construction of the station at Piccadilly;

·                Concern over plans to construct a 2000-space car park at Piccadilly station and the impact this would have on congestion and carbon neutral targets;

·                What the potential funding mechanism would be for Manchester Airport should the government be unable to provide funding;

·                The tram turnback facility should be located at Velopark instead of New Islington as proposed by the Bill; and

·                The importance and history of rail travel in Manchester.

The Leader of the Council provided assurances that the Council had a strong case with their petition and that the Council would continue to make its case for significant investment in the rail network. She also confirmed that there was no clarity on the funding mechanism for the Airport station, which was currently the only unfunded proposition, despite having suggested the possibility of private equity investment to government. 

The Director of City Centre Growth and Infrastructure explained that specific analysis on the economic impact of closing the Ashton Metrolink line had not yet been undertaken but would be assessed. The government had noted the Council’s position on this.

The Director of City Centre Growth and Infrastructure commented that the government were continuing with the proposal to build a 2000-space car park at Piccadilly despite the Council’s argument that this contradicts the policy position on climate change, sustainable transport, and carbon neutrality.

It was advised that the Ashton Metrolink line would need to be closed as the construction of HS2 required severing the track and inserting a pile.

Members’ view that the tram turnback facility should be located at Velopark was reiterated by officers, who explained that this would improve network efficiency particularly when events were scheduled at the Etihad Stadium or the Co-op Live arena.

Decision:

That the Committee

(1)      noted the report and

(2)      endorse the recommendations for the Executive.