TSSA warns of ‘gold rush’ over HS2 land sale

TSSA has accused the government of orchestrating a “gold rush” over the sale of land acquired for the now scrapped leg of the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project from Birmingham to Manchester.

 TSSA, the union representing workers directly employed at HS2, has been critical of the Conservative government over the move which was announced in Manchester at the Party’s recent conference.  

Now Sir John Armitt - the chair of the National Infrastructure Commission – is calling for Ministers to think again about plans to sell the land bought but no longer part of the route, so that proper consideration can be given as to what should be done with the space. 

Commenting, TSSA General Secretary Maryam Eslamdoust, said: “When the government's own advisor on national infrastructure projects is worried about the direction of travel then Ministers should sit up and take notice.  

“It’s a wholly wrong decision to scrap the HS2 leg from Birmingham to Manchester in the first place, but the idea of speedily selling land around this route is likely to lead to further poor decision making.  

“Our worry is that in some areas the land will fall into the wrong hands and developers, in the housing sector and elsewhere, will see this as a potential gold rush. 

“Instead, what should be considered is what is best for the people of the counties and cities at the heart of this, while also taking time to evaluate what any decision does to assist rail travel between Birmingham and Manchester.”