Liverpool’s High Speed Rail campaigners have been asked to state their case at Westminster.
Transport Minister Baroness Kramer has responded to a letter from the High Speed Rail – Linking Liverpool campaign, led by the Combined Authority and the Local Enterprise Partnership, which spelled out the results of research into the benefits that High Speed Rail will bring to the City region.
She said the research was ‘a welcome contribution to our ongoing consideration of the responses…to consultation as well as the work aimed at improving connectivity in the North and bringing the benefits of HS2 to the North quicker’.
The campaigners have now been asked to fix a date for a meeting to state their case.
Cllr Phil Davies, Chair of the Combined Authority, said: “The response from the Minister is extremely encouraging. The Government is evidently listening carefully to what we have to say, and we will use this opportunity to make the case for High Speed Rail into Liverpool as forcefully as we can.
“Bringing High Speed Rail to the City Region will bring benefits across the board – jobs, investment, increased tourism – and our research provides clear evidence that this opportunity is important not only to Liverpool but to the whole of the North.”
Robert Hough, Chair of the LEP, said: “We’ve put a lot of work into making the case for High Speed Rail coming to Liverpool because of the contribution it will make to the economy. Clearly, £8.3bn of benefit is not insignificant and it is good to see that Government is recognising the strength of our case and the value of our joined up approach. Our effort is about driving more business growth and I urge every business to now get behind the campaign.”
The campaign – which has already attracted support from more than 4,000 members of the public since its launch last week – will be starting a business engagement programme next week (August 12), when leading organisations will pledge their backing.