Scrapping HS2 Leeds extension 'undermines' levelling up

The proposed extension of HS2 would have cut rail journey times significantly between Leeds and London

Scrapping the proposed eastern leg of HS2 to Leeds would "undermine" the government's levelling-up pledge, according to Leeds City Council.

The comments come as sources have told the BBC there will be no Leeds extension to HS2.

James Lewis, leader of Leeds, said the decision reinforced the "old north-south divide".

The new Northern Powerhouse Line is also expected to be abandoned in favour of upgrades to existing lines.

The Integrated Rail Plan is expected to be published by the government on Thursday.

It is understood the government is set to argue the new plans will deliver comparable benefits more quickly and cheaply.

Mr Lewis said: "We believe that anything less than a commitment to the eastern leg of HS2 as part of an integrated network with Northern Powerhouse Rail in full would undermine any pledge to 'level up' our regions - at a time when we need it most."

In an open letter to the Prime Minister, Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin urged him to "keep his promises" on rail.

She said the government had a choice: "It can choose to unlock the potential of the North, or it can let us down once again, limiting your levelling up ambitions, before you've had a chance to finalise the levelling up White Paper."

Bradford is the largest UK city not connected to a mainline railway

The Northern Powerhouse Partnership, which represents northern council's and businesses, said the decision was a mistake and would undermine HS2 as a project to drive economic growth across the whole UK.

There is also significant concern about the government ditching proposals for the new Northern Powerhouse Rail line, between Leeds and Manchester.

The BBC understands the government plans to largely upgrade existing lines and the route would not go via Bradford.

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Northern Powerhouse Partnership director Henri Murison said: "Bypassing Bradford with its young and diverse population is the height of short-term Treasury thinking."

He said the idea that the revised plan would unlock the north's potential was "misguided and, in economic terms, disastrous".

"Throwing money at 150-year-old tunnels towards Manchester because it will cost less, which will never have enough capacity as they and the wider route through Huddersfield is so constrained, is not Northern Powerhouse Rail," he added.

'Massive relief'

Anne Brown said villagers have been living under a HS2 cloud

For those who have campaigned against HS2 the suggestion the eastern leg has been ditched is welcome.

Anne Brown, from Woodlesford, West Yorkshire, said it was a "massive relief".

"We stood to be completely decimated by HS2. It would have driven a hole through the village.

"The environmental impact would have been huge, the construction would have been a nightmare and we would have lost so much in terms of wildlife, our local amenities and the green areas."

For years residents had been unable to make long-term plans, unsure if they would lose their homes or be unable to sell them.

"Hopefully that is the end of that," Ms Brown said.

For residents forced out of their homes on the Shimmer estate, at Mexborough, South Yorkshire, the decision has come too late.

As of the end of 2020, the government had purchased 75 homes for potential demolition to make way for the line.

Mexborough councillor Sean Gibbons said: "What a waste this whole thing has been, it's only brought anxiety and misery for many who were living there.

"I'm distraught for them, it's all been in vain," he said.

Sue Douglas was forced out of her South Yorkshire home to make way for HS2

Sue Douglas was one of those who were forced to move from Mexborough, taking a financial loss on the sale of her home.

"We lost about £20,000," she said.

She and her husband had only been in the home for two years when in 2016 they learned HS2 would be coming through the estate.

She said the experience had made them ill, which was one of the reasons they decided to move on.

"It's an awful lot smaller than the one we had on the Shimmer estate," she said.

Mrs Douglas said she was relieved it had been dropped, but wished it had never happened in the first place.

"Why did we have to go through all that, why did they have to put us through the trauma?"

Mr Lewis said the Prime Minister had said Northern Powerhouse Rail would do for the north what Crossrail would do for London.

"Crossrail is almost built, so cutting Northern Powerhouse Rail now would just reinforce the old north-south divide."

The Labour leader of Bradford Council, Susan Hinchcliffe said the decision, if it was as reported, did not make any sense.

"We are the biggest city in the country not connected to the mainline railway," she said.

"We know that the business case is there to make it economically very profitable for the whole of the north."