South Yorkshire council leaders want alternative to HS2 route
Experts have been tasked with coming up with an alternative to the controversial HS2 route through South Yorkshire
Council leaders across South Yorkshire are asking experts to come up with an alternative to the controversial HS2 route through the county.
The Sheffield City Region Combined Authority - made up of council leaders from across the county - is setting up an independent study to come up with a new route proposal which will have less of an impact on residents.
The group support the high-speed railway but say they want to look at a new option to make it less disruptive if it's accepted by the government.
John Burrows is the group's Vice Chair and has told Hallam the study's an important move:
"Rather it being as it is at present, a line drawn on a piece of paper, this will look at the alignment of the route to minimise that impact through the major communities, not just in Rotherham and Doncaster but anywhere else."
"Just imagine how anybody would feel if one day you've got the security of your home around you and the next day somebody's said we're going to build a railway line through it. And therefore our responsibility is to the communities not just for the opportunities in terms of work and jobs but for the way that their standard of living is in place."
It comes after huge opposition to the new HS2 route from many communities across South Yorkshire, including in Mexborough where it could see a whole new housing estate demolished.
HS2 announced earlier in the year they were changing the route to have a station at Meadowhall rather than in the city centre.
John says there's "huge opportunity" to give South Yorkshire an economic boost:
"Everybody seems to think HS2 is about getting people into and out of London. But it isn't - it's about getting people into and out of Sheffield and Birmingham and Liverpool. The impact on the economy in the city region is substantial and we've got to get the best benefit from that."
"We want to get a group of experts in this field - I'm not an expert in this sort of thing - to give us some viable alternative that is properly costed, that minimises the impact and maximises the business benefit."
An HS2 spokesperson said:
“HS2 will dramatically improve journeys between the Midlands and the North, and London, boosting capacity, improving connectivity and helping to rebalance the national economy."
“We believe the new South Yorkshire route will be cheaper, easier to construct, provide better connectivity and affect fewer people than the Meadowhall option. We will continue to work with local authorities, business and people along the line of route to better understand their concerns."