Report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) attached

This report provides an update on High Speed 2 (HS2) and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) and outlines the latest position on both initiatives. The report also provides information on a campaign by Northern leaders for rail investment in the north and a summary of the Manchester City Council’s response to HS2 Ltd.’s Design Refinement Consultation.

The Committee considered a report of the Strategic Director (Development and Growth) which provided an update on High Speed 2 (HS2) and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) and outlined the latest position on both initiatives. The report also provided information on a campaign by Northern leaders for rail investment in the north and a summary of the Council’s response to HS2 Ltd.’s Design Refinement Consultation.

The Leader informed the Committee of the developments that had taken place since the report had been published and also referred to the main points and themes within the report included:-

·                Government had recently announced an independent review into HS2 which was due to report back within a six week time period and would examine cost estimates and opportunities for savings and changes to the scheme, the environmental impact, and the economic and business cases for both Phases 1 and 2;

·                The Secretary of State for Transport had recently announced that the cost of HS2 was anticipated to increase by a further £30 billion to approximately £85 billion and that the timescale for delivering Phase 2 would be delayed by seven years;

·                Northern leaders had written to both the Prime Minister and new transport secretary, to express the importance of delivering HS2 and NPR together in the north, delivering the right stations and infrastructure and not stepping back from other committed schemes;

·                Leaders were now moving forward to deliver a joint campaign, supported by other areas and existing groups, including Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and the GMCA to target business, media, MPs and senior Government Officials, with an aim to gain the support of prominent figures to influence the wider general public of the opportunities and benefits to the north of HS2, NPR and wider rail investment;

·                HS2 Ltd. was currently at the Control Point 3 (CP3) of the design stage, which was due to complete in October 2019. This stage of design would be included in the plans which would make up the hybrid Bill, which was currently due to be submitted to Parliament in June 2020;

·                HS2 Ltd. was consulting on design refinements (DRC) to the Phase 2b route consulted on in 2016.  The changes that impacted Manchester were the proposed relocation of vent shafts and their associated infrastructure, at Lytham Road and Palatine Road. The proposed new locations were at Fallowfield Retail Park on Birchfield’s Road, and on Withington Golf Club land at Palatine Road; and

·                The Council’s response to the DRC included previous concerns set out in its response to HS2 Ltd.’s Working Draft Environmental Statement (WDES) in December 2018.

Some if the key points that arose from the Committees discussions were:-

·                What could be done to improve the promotion of the benefits that HS2 would bring to the region other than just the reduction in journey times to London;

·                Reassurance was sought that the Council would be supporting objectors in relation to the proposed location of the ventilation shaft on the Birchfield site;

·                Was there any update on the proposed design of a new station at Piccadilly station given the lack of agreement between GM stakeholders and the TfN Partnership Board as to what should be proposed;

·                What could be done to improve the capacity on the existing rail network in order to deliver more services for commuters

·                There was concerns about the current volume of rail users wanting to access Piccadilly station and whether it had the capacity to accommodate any more users.

The Leader advised that the previous location of the ventilation of the ventilation shaft on the Birchfield site was were a new school was being built so it was necessary that it was relocated.  He informed the Committee that the Executive would be requested to oppose the proposed re-location at the  Birchfield site  and consider two alternative locations.

In terms of the proposals for a new station at Piccadilly, it was reported that it had been agreed with Transport for the North as to what was to be included in the report to the Partnership Board but this was not what was actually reported.  This had been acknowledged by TfN and they had confirmed that they would proceed in considering both Department for Transport’s proposal for a turn back station alongside the Council’s and GM Stakeholders preference for an underground station.  In addition to this, additional independent research had been commissioned alongside TfGM to report back on the viability and benefits an underground station would bring to the city and wider city region.

The Committee was advised that in order to provide more commuter rail services in and around Manchester, there needed to be greater capacity on the existing rail networks and this could only be achieved by the removal of long distance services from the existing networks onto the new HS2 network.  He acknowledged that the case for improved capacity on local networks had been overshadowed by the reduced journey times HS2 would achieve and the argument for HS2 should be driven by capacity and reliability rather than purely speed.

Decisions

The Committee:-

(1)       Notes the report

(2)       Welcomes the reference to a future a focus on the benefits that HS2 would have beyond reduced journey times to London;

(3)          Requests that the Committee is provided with further information on the Connecting Britain campaign