Liverpool could be first UK city to pay billions for HS2 link, says report

Connecting Liverpool to HS2 will be essential for delivering the government’s vision of a Northern Powerhouse, according to think tank ResPublica.

In a new report, the organisation claims that Liverpool and other cities in the North will need their own high speed links to HS2 in order to achieve the level of economic success envisioned by Chancellor George Osborne.

Titled Ticket to Ride: How high speed rail for Liverpool can realise the Northern Powerhouse, the report argues that the total cost of giving the city its own dedicated HS2 connection would be less than £3bn.

Liverpool could also be the first UK city to self-finance a significant portion of the cost - up to two thirds of the bill, according to the report’s authors - through the retention of taxes in the city region.

Liverpool’s Mayor, Joe Anderson, said: “The need for Liverpool to be connected to both the other cities of the north and London is huge if we as a city are going to play our part in generating money, jobs and continued growth through the Northern Powerhouse.

“Our funding plan would make up the bulk of the price with £2bn coming from keeping hold of locally raised taxes, rather than sending them to the Treasury.”

He added: “Using this mechanism would allow both ourselves and the wider economy to move closer to prosperity.”

If the proposal came to fruition, it would form the westernmost part of the east-to-west HS3 route connecting Liverpool to Hull and would see a high speed rail link between Liverpool and the HS2 line north of Crewe.

ResPublica director Phillip Blond said: “High speed rail offers a real chance to make the Northern Powerhouse work but it has to connect the cities of the north with each other, as well as London.

“If we don’t extend the North South HS2 into an East West HS3 – the real benefits and gains from high speed rail will be lost.”

He added: “Both HS2 and HS3 could start in Liverpool and with the city able to find most of the funds there is no reason for the government to ignore this detailed and transformative proposal.”

Elsewhere, the report claims that Liverpool and Manchester should strengthen their ties to market themselves as a joint destination for both business and tourism, potentially unlocking further growth in the region.

Duncan Sim, a co-author on the Ticket to Ride report, commented: “We need all the cities of the north to be linked up properly in order to create the Northern Powerhouse, desired by so many.

“Starting a high speed line in Liverpool would see a connected network of cities which would create trade, jobs and higher wages across the North.”