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Contents Header Sheffield High Speed Rail: Investing in Britain’s Future Response from Sheffield City Council S Contents Header Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 4 Response to Questions................................................................................................................................. 8 References ................................................................................................................................................... 35 Appendices .................................................................................................................................................. 38 Page 2 of 41 Contents Header Section 1: Introduction Section 1 Page 3 of 41 SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction Sheffield City Council HS2 drive skills development and stimulate innovation and capacity in the UK Position through procurement and the supply chain; Sheffield City Council supports HS2 because we o That the potential negative impacts believe it can help rebalance the UK economy of the route and station are managed and bring much needed regeneration to the in the most effective way by avoiding North. This support is conditional on key industrial land altogether and with Government, HS2 Ltd and local partners being appropriate scheduling, good able to work together to secure the maximum communication and engagement with economic gains from HS2 and not see a wasted local partners and a proactive approach opportunity for our city region. Our support for to assessment and payment of HS2 is conditional on four principles: compensation to affected parties; and o That HS2’s growth potential is o That appropriate local connectivity is maximised through the selection and in place to ensure that the benefits of design of route and station locations, HS2 are fully realised as widely as using an appropriate and up to date possible by business and communities economic appraisal approach that effectively captures the wider economic benefits of transport investment; We do not agree that the existing proposed route satisfies these principles o That HS2’s growth potential is realised by harnessing the project to Page 4 of 41 SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION and therefore strongly disagree with the be lowered, as we believe this is technically current proposal. possible, and furthermore how enhanced economic uplift of a city centre, rather than parkway station development might be We believe the decision regarding the final generated and captured to allow the part- station location will make a significant difference funding of additional costs (for example via to the economic impact of HS2 for our city region Special Purpose Vehicles and Tax Increment and is therefore of critical importance. The final Financing) station location must be selected on its ability to deliver the greatest jobs and economic development opportunities for the city region We understand the importance journey time has and the UK. on Government’s business case but believe an 1 additional 3 minute journey time going from Leeds to London is a price worth paying for We believe the current preferred station location the transformative additional economic benefits a chosen by Government is a mistake. All of the city centre route brings and avoiding severely economic evidence demonstrates that a station damaging some of the UK’s most important in the city centre site will deliver far more manufacturing heartlands. benefit to Sheffield City Region (SCR) than an out of town parkway location at Meadowhall. The majority of the local private sector as well as We believe excellent intra-region connectivity many of the Government’s own advisors support from HS2 to all parts of our city region is vital this. We want to work with HS2 Ltd and and we are able to demonstrate how to maximise Government to find a solution that works for the a city centre station’s economic impact and UK and works for Sheffield City Region; the connect people from across the whole city region current proposals do not. Genecon estimate that to new jobs at less cost than the proposed a station at Victoria would deliver 6,400 higher connectivity packages required at Meadowhall. net jobs growth than a station at Meadowhall. This would be worth £6bn to the city region economy, and all districts would benefit from For HS2 to truly be an engine for growth, more residents in employment as a result. connected into the economy of the UK, it is increasingly recognised that local partners such as local authorities will need to bring forward We support and have commissioned technical integrated investment plans to help provide the work to develop a single route that runs additional infrastructure required to support through Sheffield city centre with the station at station development. It is absolutely fundamental Victoria instead of a route via Meadowhall. This that we therefore locate the stations in the route will maximise the positive economic and places that best create the economic value regeneration benefits of locating the station in that can be captured to help fund this vital the city centre, whilst at the same time also infrastructure. Locating a station at a parkway remove the substantial negative impact that location significantly erodes our ability to play a the current proposed route has on key national full part in contributing as the regeneration manufacturing sites, Enterprise Zones and a opportunity and economic uplift will be major planned residential community at Waverley considerably less than in Sheffield city centre. in the Lower Don Valley. We consider this to be Evidence from CBRE estimates that the net the optimal route. uplift in business rates associated with a We would like to work with HS2 Ltd to explore both how the costs of this through route can 1 Parson Brinckerhoff (2014), HS2 – Sheffield City Centre Route Option Assessment Page 5 of 41 SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION station at Victoria could be worth £530 million We strongly believe HS2 must be connected 2 to the sub-regional economy. into the international high speed rail network. HS2 is about city to city connectivity, including mainland Europe – not just shorter journey times We support the view that work on HS2 should to London. Northern economies should be able be accelerated and started in the North as to access the benefits of direct connections to early in the programme as possible. Not only mainland Europe that London already enjoys. would this bring early economic benefits to This appreciation of the importance of city to city northern area, it would provide certainty to connectivity must be embedded within HS2. investors and send out an important signal to business that Government are supportive of HS2. 2 CBRE (2013), Property and Financing Solutions for HS2 Station. Page 6 of 41 SECTION 2: RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS Section 2: Section 2 Response to Questions Page 7 of 41 SECTION 2: RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS Response to Questions i) Do you agree or disagree providing jobs, GVA growth and regeneration opportunities at a city region level. with the Government’s We believe that the benefits of HS2 are just as much about connectivity to other core cities - proposed route between the city centre to city centre - as they are about West Midlands and improved journey times to London. By bringing together large concentrations of population and Manchester? This includes jobs in the Midlands and North this will create a more coherent non-London economic zone, the proposed route alignment, that is vital to providing an alternative centre of the location of tunnels, gravity to an over-heating economy in the south– east. Sheffield is an integral part of ventilation shafts, cuttings, Manchester-Leeds-Sheffield economic triangle that collectively has the same sized economy as viaducts and depots as well London. It is vital for the UK that these Northern as how the high speed line cities are able to punch their weight to drive national growth that is balanced and not over- will connect to the West reliant on London and the South East. City centre to city centre connectivity within this zone Coast Main Line is vital to maximise the integration of the three city region economies, to the benefit of the whole Sheffield City Council regards HS2 as vital to UK economy. unlock growth across city regions. We believe the project is a fundamental part of rebalancing Consequently, Sheffield City Council support the our national economy and encouraging more full development of the ‘Y’ shaped network as sustainable, long-term growth as well as part of comprehensive measures to improve city to city connectivity and address UK rail capacity Page 8 of 41 SECTION 2: RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS 3 challenges. As part of this, we strongly believe economy by 2030. In order for this to happen, HS2 must be connected into the international Core Cities transport systems need a step high speed rail network to also enable city to change in connectivity, and HS2 is crucial to this. city connectivity across mainland Europe. Therefore, we fully support a HS2 station at We do not have detailed, specific comments on Manchester Piccadilly. We believe this location the route alignment or infrastructure associated will maximise the economic benefits of HS2 in with the western leg but it is essential that, as a Manchester due to its city centre location and will minimum, the eastern leg is delivered at the enhance the Manchester-Leeds-Sheffield