Another nail in the coffin for HS2 as land on cancelled line no longer protected

Some of the land around the cancelled HS2 route to Manchester is no longer protected from being developed, the government has announced. The move to end 'safeguarding' of the land means developments that conflict with the high-speed railway can go ahead.

Transport secretary Mark Harper has announced today (January 18) that safeguarding for Phase 2a of the scheme, between the West Midlands and Crewe, has now been lifted. However, land protections for Phase 2b, between Crewe and Manchester, are still in place.

Instead, the protections on this land will be changed so that any land needed to build Northern Powerhouse Rail will be safeguarded. These changes will allow for some land along the cancelled HS2 route to be used for a new train line from Manchester to Liverpool.

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After the Prime Minister's announcement that the Northern section of HS2 would be cancelled in October, the government said that these changes would be made by summer 2024. Mr Harper has now confirmed that the work to make these changes is under way.

In a written statement to Parliament, Mr Harper confirmed that the safeguarding directions for HS2 Phase 2a were formally lifted. He said: “By lifting safeguarding, the Government provides certainty to people along the former route of HS2 and makes development easier, as HS2 Ltd will no longer object to proposed development in the area to which the safeguarding directions had applied.”

Last week, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told the M.E.N. that he would not bring back the plans for a new high-speed line between Birmingham and Manchester if he wins the next general election. His comments came after Sir Jon Thompson, who is the executive chair