Manchester’s HS2 station a waste of 5m sq ft of prime development land
Plans for Manchester’s HS2 station are a waste of 5m sq ft of prime development land, business leaders have warned.
They have urged parliament to revise “hugely shortsighted” designs for the next stage of HS2 as MPs start debating the latest stage in the high-speed railway’s enabling legislation.
The current scheme proposes an above-ground station, but analysis carried out on behalf of Manchester City Council estimates that by 2050 an underground version would provide £333m a year in additional economic benefit.
Plans for Manchester’s HS2 station are a waste of 5m sq ft of prime development land, business leaders have warned.
They have urged parliament to revise “hugely shortsighted” designs for the next stage of HS2 as MPs start debating the latest stage in the high-speed railway’s enabling legislation.
The current scheme proposes an above-ground station, but analysis carried out on behalf of Manchester City Council estimates that by 2050 an underground version would provide £333m a year in additional economic benefit.
Lou Cordwell, founder of digital design firm magneticNorth and chair of Greater Manchester’s local enterprise partnership, called on government to rethink its “hugely shortsighted” design.
“A surface station will swallow up an enormous section of city centre land that will otherwise be incredibly economically productive and support our ‘levelling up’ ambitions,” she said.
“We must invest in a future-proofed underground option that is designed to last 100-plus years and empowers us to deliver the growth we know can be unlocked.”
The government has long indicated a preference for a six-platform surface station in Manchester, a view it confirmed in last year’s integrated plan for rail infrastructure in the North and Midlands. An underground design would cost an additional £4bn to £5bn, it said, delaying the project by seven years while causing “greater disruption” to the city centre.
“The additional costs could not be justified by the value of additional regeneration benefit,” the rail strategy said of an underground station.
Juergen Maier, formerly chief executive of Siemens UK and now chair of Digital Catapult, a UK tech non-profit, said the estimated cost was an “exaggeration”, albeit one that would still be justified, including through regeneration opportunities.
The FT (£)
