The
government has yet again been forced to defend its investment in HS2. As Riley Surface World was founded in Birmingham and is still based in the West Midlands, I
have decided to make my own views known on the subject.
The debate
about the high speed rail network has inevitably polarised opinion. Those in
favour point to Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands as countries that
have enjoyed the benefits of this form of rail travel for many years.
Meanwhile, the UK lags far behind.
It has got
me thinking as to why we are always behind the game when it comes to large,
glossy infrastructure projects? After all, our economy may not rival Germany,
but it is comparable to France and bigger than Spain or the Netherlands. What
is it about the British psyche that causes us to shrink from such difficult
decisions?
This
reticence is not universal. In London during the last decade we have completed
the O2 Arena, Excel exhibition centre, Olympic park, new Wembley stadium, Heathrow
Terminal 5, two massive Westfield shopping centres and we are well into the
multi-billion Crossrail project linking west and east London.
Londoners
instinctively embrace these schemes. It is taken as read that a major
international conurbation needs facilities like this. They project the image of
a city that is constantly moving forward, responding to change and enhancing
its global reputation.
However, the
benefits of HS2 are not entirely for London. They begin with the line to
Birmingham and eventually reach Manchester and Leeds, passing Nottingham and
Sheffield along the way. The whole idea is about joining up the dots between
the major provincial cities and the South East, making it easier for business
and the public to engage with the Midlands and North and vice versa.
Once you
reach the outskirts of London the opposition comes piling in. Residents of the
affluent Chilterns and some of the most picturesque parts of Northants and
Warwickshire, understandably, don’t want to suffer ten years or more of disruption
and blight on their properties and idyllic lifestyles.
In more
general terms, hard-pressed tax payers find it hard to envisage the benefits of
spending £40 + billion on something that only a minority of the population will
ever use. So how do you sell the case?
As a
lifelong Midlands businessman and resident, I am conscious that I should have a
view on something as important as HS2. When it eventually opens, I am sure that
I will be one of the first to buy a ticket, if only for the thrill of travelling
at 200 mph!
But putting
frivolity to one side, there is no doubt that Birmingham will never return to
its former glory without projects like this. Ever since the industrial
revolution, Birmingham and the Black Country have thrived on bold, buccaneering
industrial expansion. Without visionaries like Brunel, we would never have
created the foundries and factories that were the basis of our famous metal
bashing industries. Meanwhile, the great William Morris laid the foundations
for our automotive industries that are such a feature of the West Midlands, now
undergoing a revival that is contributing heavily to the 1 million plus cars
that are built in Britain every year.
Although I
have some sympathy with the sceptical, my heart tells me we should go for it.
It is particularly attractive if the contracts for design, construction,
rolling stock etc. are awarded primarily to UK companies. That will have a huge
positive effect on employment and prosperity, not least in our own industry,
which, as we all know, leads the world in its expertise.
