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Oct 2023

Politics

Government cannot be trusted to divert HS2 money to Harrogate, say Lib Dems

Published: 8 Oct 2023, 14:00 BST

by Calvin Robinson Chief Reporter

The government cannot be trusted to divert money from the scrapped HS2 project to Harrogate, say the town’s Liberal Democrats.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Wednesday that the high speed rail link between Birmingham and Manchester would be cancelled. Only the new London Euston to Birmingham line will be built.

As a result, the Prime Minister’s Office published a list of projects which the £36 billion saved could be diverted to.

Initially, the list did not include Harrogate. However, on Thursday, it was updated and included £2.5 billion for transport projects for "14 rural counties, smaller cities, and towns outside the big city regions".

It said:

“This new money could finance projects like more electric buses in Harrogate and better bus-rail interchange in Scarborough. “

No detail has been given on which buses this would refer to or how much it would cost.

HS2 scrapping: How will it affect the Harrogate district?

Andrew Jones MP ‘disappointed’ after HS2 northern leg cancelled

In August, Transdev, which operates Harrogate Bus Company, placed a £21 million order for 39 new buses and to electrify its entire fleet locally.

Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said the government’s list had already had “countless” revisions for projects which have already been in operation for years.

As a result, he added that the government could not be trusted to deliver the proposals.

Mr Gordon said:

“Any money or investment into Harrogate and Knaresborough would be hugely welcomed, and a relief after 13 years of neglect and the Conservatives taking our area for granted. Our area has missed out time and again on schemes like the levelling up fund and the towns fund.

"However, anyone who believes the Network North or the projects outlined in it will come to pass needs to give their head a shake.

"It would be too kind to even call this a plan drawn up on the back of fag packet.

"Since the publication of the document there have already been countless revisions and walking back of promised investment, and it included proposals for tramlines in Manchester that have been in operation for years, and plans to dual the A1 which the Conservatives have been promising since at least 2010.

“Why would anyone believe that this Conservative Government can deliver any of these projects, when these plans have been cobbled together off the back of another scrapped national infrastructure project that only a matter of weeks ago they were promising to deliver.”

However, Keane Duncan, Conservative Party mayoral candidate for York and North Yorkshire, described the proposals as a “turning point” for the government’s levelling up agenda.

Mr Duncan, who is also executive councillor for highways on North Yorkshire Council, said:

“The north does not stop at Manchester, and neither should transport investment.

“For too long the focus has been on the big cities, with areas like ours overlooked and left to fall behind.

“Rishi is turning this around and changing the way we deliver transport infrastructure to ensure people across the entire north can benefit.

“HS2’s costs have soared and it’s suffered delay after delay - proving a distraction from the investment we really need in York & North Yorkshire.

“The decision to scrap it and divert millions of extra investment into more pressing improvements here represents a turning point for our region.”

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Government cannot be trusted to divert HS2 money to Harrogate, say Lib Dems

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