Northern Powerhouse Partnership urges continued transport investment in CSR submission following PAC report on HS2

The Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) is calling for continued and expanded investment in the North’s transport infrastructure as part of its submission for the upcoming Spending Review. The call follows the publication of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report, ‘Where Now for HS2?’, which highlights the need to come up with a plan for capacity on HS2 following the cancellation of Phase 2 by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak MP and detail on East – West connectivity to establish what land is needed.

The PAC report warns that the failure of HS2 has become a reputational risk to the UK and calls on the Government to set out what benefit can still be salvaged for taxpayers.

As part of its submission to the Treasury’s Spending Review, NPP has called for the completion of the key TransPennine Route Upgrade project already in delivery. The submission also emphasises the importance of Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) to regional growth. The Partnership is seeking completion of the Hybrid Bill process for the new line between Manchester Airport and Picadilly, urges £2 billion overall for a new station in Bradford and new line to Huddersfield, and stresses that NPR stations should be linked to the delivery of major housing. NPP has also called for the government to explore private funding and finance options for the Midlands-North rail line, following the cancellation of HS2.

Henri Murison, Chief Executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership said;

“At Northern Powerhouse Partnership, we share much of the assessment of the Public Accounts Committee but would also highlight the HM Treasury were officials also heavily involved in the oversight of HS2, as was the Infrastructure Projects Authority in Cabinet Office, and so the Department for Transport is not alone in those in government with questions to answer. Mark Wild represents new leadership, and the reset he is overseeing will ensure that the errors of oversight by those in government who were so busy cancelling the projects various northern sections that they failed to be even willing to appoint a chair and chief executive for HS2 at the same time must accept their share of the responsibility for the mess now needing to be cleared up on Phase 1.”

‘We welcome the clear position taken on the need to set out how West Coast Mainline capacity and northern rail connectivity will be addressed as we have called for in our Comprehensive Spending Review submission also, and at same time restarting the Hybrid Bill process for the line between Manchester Airport and Piccadilly as a first step of new infrastructure through and on towards Bradford, Leeds and cities beyond including Hull and Newcastle.”

“The future prosperity of the North of England has been held back for too long by poor judgement and indecision in Whitehall. I have every confidence that with the establishment of the National infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority that as well as having had the diagnosis of what is wrong, this government will be better able to correct its predecessors mistakes and avoid repeating them.”

Also in the submission:

• Net Zero Transition: The North is well-positioned to lead the transition to Net Zero, with opportunities in carbon capture, offshore wind and Small Modular Reactors. The Partnership calls for targeted investments to support these industries and secure high-quality jobs in the region.

• Devolution and Local Leadership: NPP advocates for further devolution, urging the completion of single settlement rollouts in Liverpool City Region, North East, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to empower local leaders to better integrate services and improve productivity.