The announcement of a significant scaling back of ambition in the Integrated Rail Plan when it comes to the North has been greeted with disappointment from some – but the government is quick to remind people that the close to £100bn investment is still a historic investment!
The term “Northern Powerhouse” comes from a speech in June 2014 from then Chancellor of Exchequer George Osbourne, where he placed connectivity at the heart of the vision, describing “Not one city, but a collection of northern cities – sufficiently close to each other that combined they can take on the world.”
The speech suggested including a high-speed rail line from Manchester to Leeds Soon after, the Northern Powerhouse Rail vision, proposing this high-speed line and a boost in connectivity across the North was developed.
The recent announcement in the Integrated Rail Plan that this high speed line will be reduced to one between Warrington and Marsden, and that a number of the proposed improvements will be cut or reduced has therefore been seen as failing to match the original vision.
There has long been a major spending gap between Northern and Southern cities, and evidence shows that it is rising! A 2019 IPPR report showed that transport spending had risen more than twice as much in London at £330 per person – compared to just £149m in the North.
The Integrated Rail Plan also axed the Eastern leg of HS2, which was set to connect Leeds and Sheffield into the project. However, the Western line to Manchester has still been fully committed to – which will retain some of the benefit to the North.
The rail upgrades in the Integrated Rail Plan will focus significantly more on existing lines than the original proposals – which will help to reduce costs and speed up delivery. However, a major reason for the need for the changes was lack of capacity, and the increase in capacity with the new plans for HS2 and NPR is smaller.
The plans also included funding to develop a proposal and start building a mass-transit system in Leeds, finally ending its status as the largest city of Europe without one. Although seen as often seen as overdue, this has been nearly universally welcomed.
The Northern Powerhouse vision has definitely been somewhat limited by the scaling down of investment – which had the potential to really start to close the gap and deliver that vision of a fully connected region. But the fact that a number of long-overdue projects might finally become reality is definitely reassuring.
The North has enough talent, ambition, and unique assets to continue its growth and recovery. With local leaders now driving the push to deliver the full Northern Powerhouse Rail proposal – it seems possible that the Powerhouse vision could be finished from below.
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