20.12.16
Sheffield City Region given £1.2m boost to develop HS2 growth strategy
The government has agreed to provide South Yorkshire leaders with over £1m to spend on preparing an HS2 ‘growth strategy’ for the region.
The Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), made up of the nine local authority areas of Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster, Bassetlaw, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Dales and North East Derbyshire, will be provided with an initial £625,000.
The LEP will then receive a further £625,000 when the HS2 route through South Yorkshire is confirmed, as the government currently consults on whether to have a station near Sheffield city centre, recommended by Sir David Higgins in a July 2016 report on the region, rather than the out-of-town Meadowhall shopping centre as was originally proposed.
The government’s ‘command paper’ on its HS2 plans said: “The secretary of state is today confirming that £625,000 of UK government HS2 growth strategy funding has been made available for the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership.
“The government plans to make a further £625,000 available following confirmation of the route in South Yorkshire. We will work with local authorities to release these funds.”
A report made to the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority said the money would help the combined authority with preparing a growth strategy “in order to take full advantage of the economic benefits of HS2”.
The initial £625,000 will be focused on “maximising Sheffield City Region-wide benefits”, with the second instalment available for “station master-planning”.
South Yorkshire does not yet know whether or not it will have its own dedicated HS2 station after the idea of building a station at Meadowhall was dismissed due to cost concerns. HS2 bosses are currently deciding whether to build an additional station for the county between Doncaster, Rotherham and Wakefield.
Separate to the region’s growth strategies, the Sheffield City Region is also commissioning a £40,000 report into ‘possible mitigation measures’ on the currently proposed route for the county, looking specifically at how the route will affect people in Doncaster and Rotherham.
It said: “This will include looking at minor route or design amendments to reduce the number of properties affected and the scale of the impact.
“The study will be commissioned from consultants in early December and report back by early February so that its findings can be used to inform the Sheffield City Region response to the HS2 route consultation.”
The cost of the Sheffield City Region’s HS2 mitigation study will be accommodated from the combined authority’s existing transport budgets.
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