Cheshire leaders meet with minister over HS2

Crewe Station was due to become a HS2 hub

The leader of Cheshire East Council has met with the government to discuss the impact of scrapping HS2's northern leg amid officers' fears it could spell financial crisis for the authority.

The council had spent more than £11m on preparing for Crewe to become an HS2 hub, a project that would have seen the area linked to swathes of England by high-speed rail.

But citing huge costs and delays, the prime minister announced in October that plans for the northern section had been axed. Work continues on the London to Birmingham leg.

At a meeting of the full council, deputy leader Craig Browne said leader Sam Corcoran had met with the government's rail minister and agreed that “dialogue” would continue.

A report ahead of the meeting warned if the council was required to write-off costs linked to HS2, it could trigger an S114 notice; protocols under which local authorities declare themselves effectively bankrupt.

Cheshire East Council had invested £11m ahead of HS2's arrival in Crewe

Mr Browne, Independent group leader, said the council had written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and several secretaries of state and ministers about the concerns, and to “seek a fair and equitable deal” for Cheshire East.

In Mr Sunak's announcement of October, he said money that had been earmarked for HS2 would be redeployed into other transport projects.

Mr Browne told members that he and Labour's Mr Corcoran had an initial meeting with rail minister Huw Merriman on 29 November and “agreed that a dialogue between the council and government would continue”.

The mayor of Cheshire East, Liberal Democrat Rod Fletcher, said he wanted to take the “unusual step” of speaking on the issue as he was a retired railway operating manager. "I was personally devastated," he said of October's developments.

Conservative group leader, Janet Clowes, added there was “very much a cross-party Cheshire East remonstration with government”.

“I accept that it’s my government, if you like to put it that way, but we have a really good case to bring forward and we have a right to expert more in terms of the response that we can get as how those monies are now going to be allocated.

“Because Crewe deserves it, as does the rest of Cheshire East that was set to benefit indirectly from being the gateway to the north.”

Labour councillor Connor Naismith said he believed Cheshire East must “support all efforts to lobby the government to rethink its approach to the disposal of safeguarded land”.

Cheshire East Council recently agreed to close its headquarters

In a report looking at the local impact of HS2’s cancellation, officers said £8.6m of the spending so far had been capital expenditure - funded by borrowing.

But if this was instead required to come out of the council’s budget, officers said such a move could trigger S114 notification.

Local authorities including Nottingham City Council and Birmingham City Council have recently issued the order, having found themselves unable to balance books.

Cheshire East has introduced a number of cost-saving measures, including charges for green bins, cuts to library opening hours and closing its headquarters.

It reported a forecast £18.7m shortfall in its budget earlier this year.