Baroness Kramer visits Derby and Nottingham to see how HS2 could benefit the region
15 Apr 2014 03:47 PM
Derby and Nottingham are
set to benefit from HS2
Transport Minister Baroness
Kramer was in the East Midlands today (15 April 2014) to find out more about
how HS2 will benefit the region.
She toured the proposed line of
route, including Long Eaton and Toton, and met with D2N2, the
region’s Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
Baroness Kramer
said:
HS2 will spur economic
growth across the whole country, creating new opportunities that places like
Derby and Nottingham will benefit from. With its strong railway and engineering
heritage the East Midlands will undoubtedly be involved in the construction and
operation of the largest construction project of our
generation.
The LEP, D2N2, is working
with HS2 Ltd to maximise the benefits of HS2, and we are working
with local communities and leaders to mitigate the problems that inevitably
come with a project of this scale.
David Ralph, Chief Executive of
D2N2, the Local Enterprise Partnership for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire,
said:
D2N2 is unequivocal in its
support for HS2 and cannot overstate the importance of certainty
being established for the earliest possible delivery of the eastern leg of
Phase Two.
Also, given the region’s
175 year history in manufacturing excellence in the rail industry, winning the
competition to host the new HS2 College would be a real boost. We are looking forward
to sharing our views on this with Baroness Kramer.
The Department for Transport
(DfT) is an important partner to delivering economic growth across the D2N2
area and the importance of strategic projects such as the electrification of
Midland Mainline, the smart motorway and the A453 are currently being
delivered.
Securing DfT’s
support for local D2N2 priorities such as the Newark Southern Relief Road,
Sherwood Growth Corridor in Mansfield, Chesterfield Town Centre and the
Harworth Bircotes transport improvements as well as accelerating delivery of
the eastern leg of HS2, is also of upmost importance.
It is estimated
that HS2 could boost productivity in Derby, Nottingham and the
surrounding region by up to £2.2 billion per year within five years of
the railway opening.
A new hub station at Toton would
be incredibly well connected with a fast and frequent shuttle service linking
Derby and Nottingham to the station. Journey time to and from London will be
just 51 minutes from the East Midlands hub, while the stations in Leeds,
Sheffield, East Midlands and Birmingham will each be less than 20 minutes
apart, making daily commuting easy.
There is massive potential for
regeneration around the proposed station sites and last month’s HS2 Growth
Taskforce report called for planning to begin now. Combined with the
current programme of electrification across the north, this improved
connectivity will unlock the enormous potential and opportunities that cities
like Derby and Nottingham have to offer – making them more attractive
places to locate and do business.
The consultation on the Phase
Two route, stations and depots closed on 31 January 2014 and the
government will announce a decision on the final route by the end of this
year.