Report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) attached

This report provides Economy Scrutiny Committee Members with an update on High Speed 2 (HS2) and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) following the publication of the independent review of HS2 by Douglas Oakervee and the recent announcement on HS2 by the Prime Minister on 11 February 2020.

The Committee considered the report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) that provided Members with an update on High Speed 2 (HS2) and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) following the publication of the independent review of HS2 by Douglas Oakervee and the recent announcement on HS2 by the Prime Minister on 11 February 2020.

The Leader introduced the report and added that the Prime Minister had recently announced that HS2 and NPR would be delivered in full and that a new delivery body had been established to oversee the integration of HS2 into NRP. He further stated that the terms of reference for the commission to review infrastructure had also been released and the draft report for the options for Piccadilly station would allow for an appraisal and evaluation of these, noting that the report had recommended a review of the entire rail network in and around the city. He stated this was a rapidly changing and positive development.

The Deputy Head of City Centre Growth and Regeneration stated that since the Committee report had been written, the Department for Transport had announced that they would be publishing a response to the independent review of HS2 and they were currently preparing a timetable for the delivery of the Crewe to Manchester section of Phase 2.

Councillor Lovecy, Ward Councillor for Rusholme stated that the Council position was to oppose the proposed location of Vent Shaft 4. She stated that the Committee should recommend that the Council urgently request that the Minister for Transport should publish the findings of consultation undertaken last year on the proposed location of the fourth vent shaft and autotransformer station, adding that it was her opinion that the exercise had been flawed. She further stated that the Committee should also recommend that the Minister for Transport instruct HS2 to investigate alternative sites for this vent, adding that the current location was inappropriate and there was widespread opposition to this.

The Leader stated that he supported the recommendation to urge the Minister to release the findings of the consultation. He stated that the position of the Council was to oppose the current proposed location for fourth vent shaft and said that if the preferred option for Piccadilly station was accepted the tunnel required would not be travelling along the current proposed route and the number of vent shafts required could be reviewed. He further informed the Committee that it would be himself who made any request to the Secretary of State to release the findings of the consultation exercise and it would be the Chief Executive who would submit any representations regarding the location of vents, inclusion of social value and training to the National Infrastructure Commission.

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

·                Supporting the comments of Councillor Lovecy;

·                Seeking an assurance that Manchester would benefit from the creation of new jobs and the building of new houses;

·                Following the recent decision regarding the expansion of Heathrow, consideration needed to be given to potential legal challenges to the HS2 project;

·                Calling for the project to commence as soon as possible in the North, with decisions taken locally to deliver the described benefits to Manchester and the wider region;

·                Recognising the importance of connectivity;

·                What consideration had been given to communications and the branding of this project;

·                Would social value be delivered as part of this significant investment;

·                Recognising the need to train and equip residents with the necessary skills to deliver the HS2 project and the resulting benefits, such as housing construction; and 

·                How would any redesign of Piccadilly train station impact on Metrolink.

The Leader acknowledged the comments regarding the legal challenge to the expansion of Heathrow and described that his understanding was that the grounds for that challenge were specific to that decision making process. He described that following the decision to integrate NPR into HS2 it was likely that this work would progress in a timely manner in the North to deliver the required upgrade of the Trans Pennine line. He acknowledged the comment regarding the use of the term High Speed and stated that it had existed for ten years so it was unlikely that this would be changed and reiterated that the project would increase capacity, not was not solely focused on speed. He further supported the call for local decision making and stated that he had recommended that an additional body, in addition to the three proposed delivery bodies (Euston Station, HS2 Ltd and High Speed North including NPR) be established to consider the development of Piccadilly station and the surrounding area and this would include options for increasing Metrolink capacity at the station.

The Leader further commented that a commitment had been given by Government to deliver the Eastern leg of the project, nothing that this important as this would contribute to the delivery of an improved and connected rail network for the UK. He stated that representations would be made to the National Infrastructure Commission to ensure that the maximum social value and training and apprenticeship opportunities were delivered through this national project. Commenting further that the Manchester College in consultation with industry partners were already considering and planning for the delivery of future skills requirements and delivered a career led curriculum.

The Deputy Head of City Centre Growth and Regeneration commented that the Greater Manchester Growth Strategy had identified the number of homes and jobs that could be delivered across Greater Manchester as a benefit of the project. The Leader added that discussion would continue be had with Government as to how the training would be delivered and maximised so people could access these new employment opportunities.

Decisions

The Committee: -

(1)       Recommend that the Chief Executive, or a nominated officer write to the National Infrastructure Commission to recommend that social value, training and apprenticeship opportunities are delivered through the establishment of the various project delivery bodies; and to request that an update on the proposals for the location of Vent Shaft 4 and the autotransformer station be provided and this to be circulated to local Members.

(2)       Recommend that the Leader write to the Secretary of State for Transport to request that the results of the public consultation exercise on the proposals for the location of Vent Shaft 4 be published.