MP John Healey: "HS2 will be all pain and no gain"

Mr Healey (pictured), MP for Wentworth and Dearne, has blasted the project’s so-called M18 route in a letter to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.

But the MP said that if the scheme does go ahead there should be a pledge for a ‘parkway’ station in South Yorkshire on the main line rather than the proposed ‘spur’ link to Sheffield.

The Government’s preferred route for the line in South Yorkshire is to travel from Aston and Aughton up through and not stopping at Bramley, Mexborough and the Dearne Valley — part of it mirroring the M18.

Mr Healey, a vocal campaigner against the route, has backed local protest groups and said in his letter: “The worst of all worlds would be to have HS2 running through South Yorkshire without stopping in South Yorkshire.” 

An earlier route through Meadowhall was abandoned by HS2 because of objections by Sheffield City Council.

Now, in a letter to Mr Grayling, Mr Healey said: “As you know I believe that the Government has made the wrong decision in adopting the new M18 route for HS2 over the previous Meadowhall option. 

“By every measure, the Meadowhall route is better for South Yorkshire.

“However, it is also imperative that should the Government succeed in moving ahead with this flawed decision then it should obviously confirm a parkway station on the HS2 mainline in South Yorkshire to avoid many parts of our region facing all the pain, and none of the gain of HS2.

“You confirmed that you had commissioned HS2 to undertake a feasibility study but I was disappointed when it became clear that the remit was narrowly drawn to only consider the rail case for a parkway. 

“This risks ignoring the key objective of the economic, social and connectivity benefits for South Yorkshire that any parkway station should bring.”

Mr Healey said that the Government should give equal weight to a study by Sheffield City Region which included an economic assessment of a parkway station as it would to HS2 reports.

A spokeswoman for HS2 said: “The M18 route remains the best way to serve the region, meeting customer demand, providing fewer impacts, supporting Norther Powerhouse Rail, as well as being both less technically challenging and more cost effective.

“HS2 will deliver major benefits to the Yorkshire region. 

“It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dramatically improve journeys between the Midlands and the North, and London, boosting capacity, improving connectivity and helping to rebalance the national economy.

“It is also becoming integral to local plans to drive business growth, create jobs and secure investment years before it arrives.”