Business and political leaders from the North have joined together to launch Connecting Britain, a campaign to speak with one, united voice and underline the importance of the full delivery of both HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) for communities throughout the North of England.
This follows the Government announcement of an independent review of HS2.
The campaign says that the North is overdue major investment into transport infrastructure – and a lack of investment is holding productivity back.
Connecting Britain argues that transforming connectivity from the Midlands to the North, will help support economic growth, improve productivity, boost jobs and skills, increase prosperity and support a transition to a low-carbon economy.
Launching the campaign, Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council and campaign partner of Connecting Britain said:
“A green light on HS2 and NPR in full would be a clear signal from the government that it recognises that historic underinvestment in strategic transport infrastructure outside London is a trend that must be reversed if all communities are to be levelled-up and regions rebalanced.
“We will work with the government and the Oakervee Review into HS2, to demonstrate the strength of the economic case for the full and timely delivery of HS2 fully integrated with NPR and other complementary infrastructure schemes in the North and Midlands.
“For the North, it’s not either HS2 or NPR, it’s both.”
