News: Rotherham Council sets out stance for HS2 review
With the aim of casting further doubt over the future of the project, the leader of Rotherham Council has met with the man leading the review looking at whether and how HS2 should proceed.
Rothbiz reported last month that an independently-led government review will use all existing evidence on the project to consider its benefits and impacts, affordability and efficiency, deliverability and scope, its phasing, including its relationship with Northern Powerhouse Rail.
There is opposition to the HS2 scheme from within Rotherham since a 2b route realignment was recommended in 2016. The local authority set out that it doesn't want to see the project reach Yorkshire when it passed a motion at the end of last year to call on the Government to abandon the Leeds leg of the project.
Rotherham Council's previous stance was a preference for the South Yorkshire HS2 station to be at Meadowhall on a through route to Leeds. The new route is seen as having negative impacts, such as adverse environmental impacts and the impact during construction, outweighing the perceived benefits of the scheme.
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Cllr. Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Council gave an update on HS2 at a meeting of the full council last week. He said: "Many of you will know, at great frustration to all of us, that we haven't be able to get consensus across the Sheffield city region amongst the councils about the best route. Rotherham and Doncaster together have taken a particularly strong line about the M18 and saying that is not the right route. Sheffield has a different view and Barnsley have a different view again."
Having approached Dan Javis, Sheffield city region's mayor, the councils are meeting separately with Doug Oakervee, who is chairing the Government's review.
Read added: "Last night, alongside Mayor Ros Jones in Doncaster, I met with Doug Oakervee, set out the Council's concerns, set out that the route to Meadowhall would have had advantages to us, this doesn't have any advantages to us. And it comes at great cost and impact on our communities.
"We were also able to talk to him through where we think High Speed Two's cost savings is wrong and it was very interesting so we will follow that up in writing.
"Now it is a very short review but I think it is important that we take as many opportunities as we can to cast as much doubt as we can in the Government's mind about their plan and that's what we've started to do."
Last week, it was revealed that the cost of HS2 Phase 2b is likely to rise from £28.6bn to a range of £32bn to £36bn with target delivery moving from 2033 to between 2035 and 2040. This came from the newly appointed Chairman of HS2 Ltd, Allan Cook.
HS2 website
Images: HS2 Ltd
Rothbiz reported last month that an independently-led government review will use all existing evidence on the project to consider its benefits and impacts, affordability and efficiency, deliverability and scope, its phasing, including its relationship with Northern Powerhouse Rail.
There is opposition to the HS2 scheme from within Rotherham since a 2b route realignment was recommended in 2016. The local authority set out that it doesn't want to see the project reach Yorkshire when it passed a motion at the end of last year to call on the Government to abandon the Leeds leg of the project.
Rotherham Council's previous stance was a preference for the South Yorkshire HS2 station to be at Meadowhall on a through route to Leeds. The new route is seen as having negative impacts, such as adverse environmental impacts and the impact during construction, outweighing the perceived benefits of the scheme.
Advertisement
Cllr. Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Council gave an update on HS2 at a meeting of the full council last week. He said: "Many of you will know, at great frustration to all of us, that we haven't be able to get consensus across the Sheffield city region amongst the councils about the best route. Rotherham and Doncaster together have taken a particularly strong line about the M18 and saying that is not the right route. Sheffield has a different view and Barnsley have a different view again."
Having approached Dan Javis, Sheffield city region's mayor, the councils are meeting separately with Doug Oakervee, who is chairing the Government's review.
Read added: "Last night, alongside Mayor Ros Jones in Doncaster, I met with Doug Oakervee, set out the Council's concerns, set out that the route to Meadowhall would have had advantages to us, this doesn't have any advantages to us. And it comes at great cost and impact on our communities.
"We were also able to talk to him through where we think High Speed Two's cost savings is wrong and it was very interesting so we will follow that up in writing.
"Now it is a very short review but I think it is important that we take as many opportunities as we can to cast as much doubt as we can in the Government's mind about their plan and that's what we've started to do."
Last week, it was revealed that the cost of HS2 Phase 2b is likely to rise from £28.6bn to a range of £32bn to £36bn with target delivery moving from 2033 to between 2035 and 2040. This came from the newly appointed Chairman of HS2 Ltd, Allan Cook.
HS2 website
Images: HS2 Ltd
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