With an economy larger than seven European Union countries, West Yorkshire and the Leeds city-region has the potential to be an economic powerhouse. But improving connectivity across the north of England would enable the region, and the north as a whole, to deliver even greater benefits, competing globally alongside London and the south-east.
We have long been calling for improvements to east-west routes across north. Electrification of the Trans-Pennine route is now in the pipeline. But, in starting to talk about HS3, we must not lose sight of other important ambitions such as the electrification of the Caldervale line and other improvements that would provide centres like Bradford, Halifax and Wakefield with much-improved connections to Leeds, Manchester and beyond.
If the government invests in the region now to create the 21st century infrastructure our economy needs to unleash untapped growth, we can create tens of thousands of jobs while also becoming a net contributor to the public purse. By ensuring its benefits have an impact across all our communities an HS3 line linking between Leeds city-region – the largest outside London – Manchester, and other cities, will transform the north and its economy and will counter the current situation where less than 0.5 per cent of commuters into Manchester come from Leeds and vice versa because the daily commute is too slow or inconvenient, despite the journey length being comparable to average commutes in London and the south-east.
A 20-minute reduction in journey times between Leeds and Manchester would be worth £6.7bn and nearly 30,000 jobs across the whole of the north of England. By shrinking distances between the two largest city-region economies outside London, businesses, homeowners, investors and graduates would all benefit from the enhanced opportunities of a bigger jobs and housing market. Public and private sector partners will help secure complementary investment in our current infrastructure, further developing a fully integrated transport strategy, ensuring that lasting benefits are felt by all. Making sure we get the best value-for money out of high-speed rail links by developing a comprehensive, ‘HS2-ready’ local transport network is key to our future plans and part of our devolution proposals.
What sets HS3 apart from other major infrastructure schemes is the political leadership from Labour-run northern cities that has seen this rise swiftly to the top of the national political agenda. Labour in power stalled on devolution after early successes in Wales, Scotland and London and a setback in the north-east. I believe we are now seeing a purposeful determination for devolving powers and resources focused around improving economic productivity and transport links, being driven by Westminster frontbenches or London-based thinktanks, but by northern council leaders refusing to accept second best.
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James Lewis is chair of West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee. He tweets @JamesLewisLab
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