A BOLD plan costed at £2.7 billion for the area around the HS2 hub in the East Midlands has been published by a group of councils, transport bodies and East Midlands Airport.
The core of the scheme is the future East Midlands Hub at Toton, and the plan proposes direct access to the Hub from more than 20 cities, towns and villages in the East Midlands.
The plan has been published as politicians and business leaders from the lobbying group HS2 East urge the government to demonstrate its commitment to building the eastern branch of HS2 from Birmingham to Leeds via the East Midlands, as the National Infrastructure Commission works on an Integrated Rail Plan for the region. HS2 East said the NIC’s Plan was being prepared at a ‘pivotal time’, and must include the Birmingham-Leeds route.
There are three phases to the East Midlands Hub proposals. The first is designed to be completed by 2030, to stimulate development in the area around the future Hub even before HS2 trains arrive. It includes an extension of the Nottingham tram system NET to Toton Lane, four trains an hour to the Hub site from Leicester, Derby and Nottingham and new bus routes from the HS2 Hub to Amber Valley, West Bridgford and Clifton.
The plan also envisages new train services from Mansfield, Derby and Leicester.
Phase Two (completed by 2040) adds a new station at East Midlands Airport and connections from the East Midlands Hub to Derby by tram or fast buses. The station at East Midlands Airport would allow a direct journey to Leicester in 15 minutes, to Derby in 18 minutes and to Nottingham in 26 minutes.
The last phase, to be completed within 25 years, includes more rail connections to the South Derby Growth Zone and Rolls Royce site, plus tram-trains serving Long Eaton, a planned housing development to the west of East Midlands Airport, Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station and the East Midlands Gateway logistics site.
Midlands Connect and Midlands Engine chairman Sir John Peace said: ‘The arrival of High Speed Two is a watershed moment for our region, and an opportunity that we must grasp with both hands.
‘As we work towards an economic renewal post-Covid19, the East Midlands must step forward and work together to secure the transport network, economic future and social mobility it deserves.’