Cancelling HS2 contracts to cost hundreds of millions of pounds
Paying off contracts previously awarded for cancelled HS2 sections will cost hundreds of millions of pounds, the UK Transport Secretary Mark Harper has indicated.
He told BBC Breakfast that the cost of pulling out of the agreements will “broadly balance out” with money recovered from selling land and property acquired for the high-speed railway.
HS2 Ltd figures show £562 million was spent on land and property for HS2 north of Birmingham.
That includes £205 million for Phase 2a between the West Midlands and Crewe, £196 million for Phase 2b between Crewe and Manchester, and £161 million for HS2’s eastern leg between the West Midlands and the East Midlands.
Government figures show a total of £2.3 billion had been spent on those phases as of June.
A £300 million contract for ground works north of Birmingham was awarded last week, but it is likely that most if not all of this spending can be withdrawn.
Mr Harper was repeatedly pressed about how much would be spent paying off contracts.
He told BBC Breakfast he could not say “in detail”.
He added: “We’ve made some assumptions.
“But we’ve also made some assumptions about the money we’ll recover from land sales, we think they will broadly balance out.
“They may not exactly.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
This affair is worthy of that Drake meme.
First panel: not having a high speed rail network
Second panel: spending billions of pounds and not having a high speed rail network
So what we are essentially confirming is that Rishi Rich’s plan wasn’t thought out before he announced it…..The Tories have trashed England they are trying the same with the other nations and they are really extra taking the p*** when it comes to Cymru…and they have literally smashed up a great swath of the countryside and used an unfathomable amount of money for no reason. I have been among many who from the start said that the environmental and economic impact HS2 was unforgivable and not worth it are vindicated, but its ba bitter vindication, just like being a “Remoaner”….its… Read more »
The similarities between Fat Shanks Johnson and Rishi Modi Boy Sunak are not really surprising, take spite for instance…
Rishi Ji to sell off at a loss to Tory Donors (probably) all the land bought for the iron road to Madchester thereby ending the Northern Fairy Tale Express…
Another Year of the Rat to remind the voters of England the difference between Sh*t and Shinola
Judge a Prime Minister by the evil women he surrounds himself with…
Details emerging of the messing around, routes missing, already existing and leaving a poisoned chalice for Labour (land sell off). The utter contempt the Conservative Party have for the ordinary people in the UK is palpable.