Burnham believes there is ‘opportunity’ in the wake of controversial HS2 scrapping

The scrapping of HS2, although ‘disappointing’, has left Greater Manchester with an ‘opportunity’, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham told council bosses.

At the latest meeting of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), the borough’s council bosses heard how the billions leftover from the controversial scrapping of the northern leg of High Speed Rail 2 earlier this month could be used to fund improved services in the region.

Mr Burnham shared his hopes for a new railway line between Liverpool and Manchester, as well as a new station at Manchester Airport and an underground station at Piccadilly. 

“You will be aware of the very public debate (around HS2) and the manner in which the decisions were made which we don’t think were done in the right way at all,” Mr Burnham told Bury Town Hall.

“We don’t consider it acceptable the way the city region was treated with that abrupt decision (to cancel the northern stretch of HS2).

“There are opportunities that have arisen from what has been announced.

"The 12bn for a new line between Liverpool and Manchester has given us a new role to shape that new line and its route.

“At this stage we would keep our ambitions in place for a station at Manchester Airport and an underground station at Piccadilly.”

‘Humanitarian crisis’ at home and abroad

Following the meeting on October 27 where the mayor shared ‘deep concerns’ about the conflict in the Middle East, bosses have officially joined international calls for a ceasefire amid the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Gaza.

Mr Burnham explained that anguish has been felt by a large proportion of the region, particularly in the Jewish and Muslim communities.

Turning to issues more local to Greater Manchester, Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett took the floor as he addressed a ‘humanitarian crisis’ happening right now in the area – homelessness.

The deputy mayor for Greater Manchester put the blame firmly at the door of the government for why there is huge strain being felt in local authority homelessness services.

Mr Dennett told council leaders that the cost of living crisis, rent rises, price rises and the ‘chronic undersupply of affordable housing’ was the cause for people being out on the streets.

Although he complimented the ‘amazing work’ being done by teams across the city-region, he said the bed every night scheme and temporary housing can only go so far, and there is nowhere permanent for people to go after this.

Under the homelessness strategy, 300 new units of “move-on” accommodation will be brought into the Rough Sleeper Accommodation programme (591 secured sites already across GM) and develop the Ethical Lettings Agency model.

The ‘Bed Every Night’ scheme will also continue to be supported by the mayoral team, Mr Dennett said.

The Bee Network ‘has landed’

Sharing more of the good news around the region, Mr Burnham went on to hail the success of the Bee Network launch last month – which saw the bus network brough back under council control for the first time in decades.

After some teething problems to begin with, the former Leigh MP shared figures to show how the V1 and V2 (buses on the Leigh Guided Busway route) are ‘significantly better than the service they replaced’. 

Mr Burnham concluded: “I believe we can say quite confidently that the Bee Network has certainly landed.”

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