Councillors from Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council in Staffordshire are urging MPs to back the council’s fight against resurrecting the extension of HS2 from Birmingham to the north of England, which was known as Phase 2 and scrapped in October 2023.
The council objects to plans put forward by the elected Mayors of Greater Manchester and Birmingham for a high-speed rail link connecting Birmingham and Manchester following the same route as was originally proposed for HS2.
The plan proposed is known as the ‘Midlands North West Rail Link’ and would run from Lichfield to near Warrington.
As well as the council putting forward its own objections, the Cabinet member for Strategic Planning, Cllr Dr Andy Fear, wants local MPs Adam Jogee and Leigh Ingham, whose constituencies cover parts of the borough, to actively oppose the plans.
Rumours that the scheme would be revived has come as a hammer blow to many people in Newcastle-under-Lyme, who thought that a threat of the line had gone away.
The council considers that the case for HS2 was always weak, and has always made clear that any high-speed link from Birmingham/Lichfield to the northwest of England via Newcastle-under-Lyme would not benefit the borough, its residents, or the environment.
Instead of benefitting the local communities, its effects would adversely affect the borough, and the route and its related infrastructure would destroy large areas of the nearby countryside.
The current plans being put forward for a high-speed line to the north as an alternative to HS2 would have the same deleterious effects, bring no benefits, and cause further harm to the communities impacted by the original plans and associated works.
The proposed route would pass through the Madeley and Whitmore areas, where HS2 has already compulsorily purchased homes and farmland.
“This has been the most appalling time for those residents and communities affected by HS2 and it is simply not on that, after a decade of suffering, their lives can be put on hold again by a proposal to rehash the first plan. If we do not fight in their support now our communities could easily face another decade of blight and uncertainty, so we will do all we can do help them – and I expect our MPs to be on board in this struggle.”
Cllr Simon Tagg, Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council
Responses
This is tricky for me as the CE Borough Cllr on the Staffs to Crewe section. I want HS2 (now that most of the pain and hard preparation work of the past 10 years has been completed let’s not waste that significant investment), BUT this HS2 lite proposal bypasses Crewe (tunnels underneath), does not provide the station upgrade needed and so offers us no benefit at all – yet the Liverpool/Manchester mayors still want to carve up the northern part of CEC with the High Legh sections. They are not interested in the wider regional benefits only in their own combined metro-mayoral interests. Under the original scheme, NuL would have benefitted as part of the Crewe/Stoke improvements and Crewe, as the ‘hub and spoke’ gateway to the north would have improved connectivity and freight traffic opportunities into the west and southwest as well. This proposal is nothing short of metro-mayoral political bullying and does not bode well for the rest of local government as National Government pushes ahead with their plans for devolution that offer established mayoralties even greater powers, including over infrastructure (see Devolution White Paper, Dec 2024).
Here’s an idea, build a few intermediate stations on the WCML between Crewe and Stafford so that NuL etc can’t say they’ve not benefitted. So there’d be a,more local service on the WCML and the High Speed line could give long distance travellers the faster journey they need. Widening the existing to six tracks is a non starter.
Something needs to happen as the cancellation of Stage 2 was done on a whim with no adult thought behind the consequences. It puts the east west northern rail improvements at risk as they shared HS2 in places. It’s not sensible to say that NuL gets no benefit when Crewe is a short distance away and will offer the improved services.
You can’t blame the mayors of Birmingham and Manchester wanting the rest of the country to spend billions of pounds on something that will mainly benefit Birmingham and Manchester. Good luck with that chaps!
Equally, you can’t blame people for objecting to having a massive loud railway coming through the back yard. I don’t think I would either. Leave the name-calling for the Primary School playground.
I really do hope this goes ahead. It would be a national embarrassment if the North of England entered the 22nd century with Rail infrastructure from the 19th.
The only reason anyone in power would back this white elephant financial black hole is because they are in the pockets of the developers and construction companies who will use the Northern leg to further trough out of the public purse. HS2 or NHS ??
So what would be your solution? Tell everyone to stay at home and not buy stuff to reduce the demand? Good luck with that. I agree, the developers are making far too much profit out of this. But we could say the same about suppliers to the NHS, couldn’t we? There are no easy answers but doing nothing isn’t one of them.
The truth is this has a high cost for what is in the grand scheme of things a minority use, the proposal to use the slower trains and not create a second line makes far more sense in a world where we should be using far less concrete and flattening fewer woodlands.
I’ve been in the area for 15 years and used the toll three times probably saved myself half an hours travel time in 15 years for what cost. But truthfully you can’t compare as there are other options to hs2 there really wasn’t for the m6 apart from convincing all of us that we don’t need or want personal cars
Widening the existing WCML rail alignment is more expensive than new and would require tens of thousands of homes alongside the lines to be demolished. It also runs not just around Madeley but through it so homes in the village would have to be demolished for a slower line option.
this argument is a dead duck. the shorter travel times are the cherry on the cake and not he cake . you’re literally cherry picking.
The fast line would host ALL COMMUTER TRAFFIC. Unlike our current hybrid commuter and freight. so commuter move to the faster line, freight takes over the old lines, you double the volume of commuters (greener travel options) and REMOVE FREIGHT FROM THE HIGHWAY (also greener reduce carbon footprint for goods). Meaning the highway will be more usable for short 1 to 2 hours long journeys instead of the freight leapfrogging spectating we have now. More commuter trains means reduces fares. and i dont have to curse like a sailor when a lorry over takes a lorry on the M6
As a bloke from Staffordshire, I must extend my deepest apologies to the rest of the UK for this absolute muppetry from the Council in the supposedly peaceful and oh-so-tranquil Newcastle-under-Lyme borough, which, mind you, isn’t exactly partially nestled in the heart of a city or anywhere near those fancy train tracks we call the West Coast mainline.
Poor dears must be absolutely gutted, having to put up with a few lorries and workers building something that, gasp, isn’t another housing estate. And yes, HS2’s already nabbed the land (Rather suspect behaviour, much like a rogue tradesman nicking plants from your garden – but that’s an entirely separate story when it comes to unwanted acquisitions.) It’s like when they built the toll road in my home town of Cannock, it was a nightmare for a few years, but now it has made a huge difference to people……especially those who can afford £9 to use it.
I bet old mate Mr Tagg will be firing up the Twitter machine (or whatever we’re supposed to call that bird app these days) for a photo op, now that Walleys Quarry landfill’s shut its gates (heaven knows where all the rubbish will end up now). Bless him, he does love a good whinge, but all the MP’s and councillors named seem to have blinkers on when it comes to seeing how this could actually be quite handy for the young’uns coming up behind us, in the country as a whole, not just one tiny part of it.
Truly the definition of “Nimby”. This is a project of national importance and can’t be derailed by these local grievances. Do they object to flights to New York going overhead because they don’t stop at the nearest airfield? If you want HGVs off your narrow local road,vif you want more trains stopping at your local stations then you have to have HS2.
I am guessing no ones told them that the WCML runs through Madeley so widening it rather than building a new alignment would involve partially demolishing the village.
This is the Council who say by and did nothing of any substance in relation to Whalleys Quarry until residents had taken to setting up protests and involving the media and local health services
If this goes ahead. after promises from the government that this won’t happen I can’t help but feel we’ve been lied to again by the current government and they need to be removed, I certainly have no confidence in what they have to say. Their lack of care for the environment and the countryside around us be it via hs2 ( or whatever they re name it) and the push for housing on green field is shocking.
not the central govt. local devolved govt & private investment. please research.
The Nimby’s never give up!
..and Staffordshire Council’s suggested alternative is? The WCML and M6 can’t handle any future increases in trains or traffic.