Transport Secretary lifts restrictions on land earmarked for HS2 Birmingham to Manchester leg

Restrictions preventing the development of land earmarked for a now-scrapped section of HS2 have been lifted, Transport Secretary Mark Harper has announced.

The Cabinet Minister has ended safeguarding for Phase 2a between the West Midlands and Crewe.

This means land on the route can be developed in a way that would conflict with building the high speed railway.

In October last year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak axed plans to extend HS2 beyond the West Midlands, to save money.

At the time, the Department for Transport (DfT) said safeguarding would be lifted "at the earliest opportunity".

Railway consultant William Barter described the decision as "ludicrous" and an act of "spite", saying it would make it harder for a future government to reverse the decision not to extend the railway.

In a written statement to Parliament on Thursday, Mr Harper said he is "formally lifting the safeguarding directions".

He went on: "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."

If your favourite music icons are the Spice Girls and your favourite Ks are Kylie and the Kardashians, you need heat Radio in your life! heat Radio is portable, so you can listen to us on the move. Simply download our app from your phone’s app store, listen online at heatradio.com and at heatworld.com. We’re on all the smart speakers too, just say “play heat Radio".