The government has scrapped the eastern leg – and with it the jobs, homes and economic uplift we were promised
- James Lewis is leader of Leeds city council
Leeds council, along with authorities across the north and Midlands, has spent 10 years planning for the arrival of HS2’s eastern leg based on the government’s proposal. High-speed rail would have brought the millions of people between Leeds and Birmingham closer; provided new opportunities for commuting; and created much-needed capacity on the existing network so that local, express and freight trains would no longer compete for space on two-track Victorian infrastructure.
All this would have supported 160,000 new jobs, stimulated a gross value added uplift to the economy of £200bn, and provided the opportunity to develop as many as 38,000 new homes. In fact, the plans had already started to draw businesses to Leeds. We are the proud home to major businesses and institutions such as Channel 4, the Bank of England, and the UK Infrastructure Bank. We at Leeds council had made great efforts to accommodate HS2’s arrival so the city could continue to grow. These plans became even more valuable to our city’s future as we began the recovery from the pandemic, and to tackle the climate emergency.
James Lewis is leader of Leeds city council
