TRANSPORT secretary Chris Grayling has confirmed the government's support for HS2.
The DfT has predicted that construction will start during the first half of 2017, following Royal Assent to the Hybrid Bill which authorises Phase 1 between London and Birmingham, while a decision on Phase 2 to Manchester and Leeds will be taken this autumn.
Mr Grayling said the high speed line is needed to deal with the rail network's 'looming capacity crisis', and that the project will also boost jobs and regeneration.
He has also confirmed plans to make £70 million of Government funds available to support communities and improve road safety along the route.
He said: “We need HS2 now more than ever. We’re facing a rapidly approaching crunch-point. In the last 20 years alone, the number of people travelling on our railways has more than doubled and our rail network is the most intensively used of any in Europe
“We need HS2 for the capacity it will bring on the routes between London, the West Midlands, Crewe, Leeds and Manchester, as well as the space it’ll create elsewhere on our transport network.
“We need it for the boost it will give to our regional and national economies. And we need it for the jobs it will create, and for the way it will link our country together.”
The £70 million budget consists of three separate funds - the HS2 Community and Environment Fund and the Business and Local Economy Fund, which total £40 million, plus a further £30 million for road safety.
The DfT said the Community fund will help improve community facilities and access to the countryside, and also conserve the natural environment along HS2's line of route, while the Business fund will support local economies in areas where businesses may be disrupted during the construction phase.
There will be £15 million for the Central area (Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Buckinghamshire), £7.5 million for Greater London, £7.5 million for the West Midlands (Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry), and £10 million which has yet to be allocated but is expected to be used for schemes which cross the borders of the regional areas or would apply along the whole route.
The allocations were made by Cathy Elliott, the independent chair of the Community and Business funds, following recommendations from the House of Commons HS2 hybrid Bill Select Committee.
She said: “Allocation of the funds in this way allows communities to have an indication of the level of funding available while maintaining some flexibility to ensure that the overarching objective of the funds are met.
“Allocating the funding on a regional level will allow the funding of larger schemes which are likely to deliver a long lasting legacy.”
Community groups, charities, non-governmental organisations and business support specialists will be able to bid for grants between 2017 and 2026, when Phase 1 is due to open.
The separate £30 million road safety fund will be used to make improvements such as traffic calming, safer junctions or better pedestrian crossings.