A local authority in the North of England is calling for compensation from the government over its decision to scrap the northern leg of HS2.
Cheshire East Council wrote to rail minister Huw Merriman and communities secretary Michael Gove seeking compensation totalling £11.2m, to cover a sum invested by the council for delivery of the megaproject.
It also asked for a range of transport improvements for Crewe and nearby areas, after the rail station – which was set to be a hub on the high-speed line – was omitted from the recent Network North document outlining where HS2’s funds would be redistributed.
Cheshire East Council leader Sam Corcoran said: “Cheshire East would have been a major beneficiary from HS2. But for Crewe itself – sitting at the centre of the HS2 phase 2 network – HS2 was the catalyst to reverse its fortunes and deliver on the levelling-up agenda, and it is arguably the biggest loser from the HS2 cancellation and Network North plans.”
He said that prime minister Rishi Sunak’s 4 October announcement was already hitting developers’ confidence in the area, adding that 4,500 new homes and 5,000 new jobs would be lost as a result.
“The expected £750m boost HS2 would have had on the local economy will not be realised, and what we will now see because of this decision by [the] government is in fact levelling down and not levelling up,” he said.
Corcoran added: “We consider it necessary that [the] government agrees a Network North deal with Cheshire East to enable the delivery of vital capital projects and regeneration programmes strategically focused on restoring the long-term outcomes for Crewe, Macclesfield and the borough that HS2 would have unlocked, and to ensure that much-needed investment in our local highway, public transport and active travel network can still be made.”
Cheshire East Council has been run since 2019 by a coalition of Labour and independent members.
As well as the £11.2m compensation, it is calling for funding to upgrade Crewe station, money for the Middlewich Eastern Bypass and A500 dualling road schemes, and for improvements to local bus services.
It also wants cash for a support programme to tackle deprivation in Crewe and for further regeneration of the town.
A financial forecast, published separately by the council this week, shows that it faces an £18.7m budget shortfall for the 2023/24 financial year. It said it would soon have to make “difficult decisions” about council services to balance the books.
The Department for Transport has been approached for comment.
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