With HS2 to hit London and Birmingham from 2026, and Crewe by 2027, towns and cities across a variety of areas within the north of England and Scotland will continue to see the development of Britain’s newest high-speed railway.
The new railway may be a controversial conversation starter, but it’s being backed by our local councils including Cheshire East Council, who have favoured HS2 and its economic benefits. To help you understand what HS2 is and how it will boost our local economy, here are the top benefits of HS2 for Cheshire and Staffordshire businesses.
What Is HS2?
In case you’re a little unsure of what HS2 is, it’s a new state-of-the-art railway line that will provide additional rail capacity across areas of the UK. Many areas will reap the benefits of HS2 including Stafford and Crewe where journey times to and from London will be reduced to less than an hour.
You can find the HS2 routes for areas like Stafford and Crewe here.
#1 A Low Carbon Option For Long Distance Journeys
One of the biggest concerns with HS2 was the effect it may have on the environment, but HS2 trains will be a low carbon option for long-distance travel. According to the HS2 website, they have plans to back the UK in their contribution towards ending climate change by minimising carbon emissions and delivering low carbon journeys.
Not only will you then be able to commute to areas a lot further away from home, in a much more time-efficient manner, but you can also now travel knowing that HS2 is a low carbon option.
#2 A Boost To The Economy
HS2 is one of the biggest construction projects occurring in our local area across Cheshire and Staffordshire and it has already started to boost the UK economy. With more than £14 billion worth of work being dished out to over 30 contracts, including Balfour Beatty and Volkerfitzpatrick, 300,000 workers will be called in to help during peak construction.
It will be a catalyst for growth with new schemes coming into place to help reinvigorate urban areas, generate jobs, and ultimately provide better opportunities for those based in the local area. The aim is to help create 500,000 jobs and 90,000 new homes, whilst levelling up the country with wider leisure opportunity and future employments for more people.
#3 Work For Local Businesses
So far, 2,000 companies have provided work for HS2, with 1,000 of these being local to the new railway and 70% either small or medium enterprises. HS2 is a national project that will benefit so many local areas like Crewe and Stafford.
It means that for a variety of businesses they will get a boost of work, as HS2 may need to find an additional workforce, that will then need a place to stay and somewhere to eat.
Working In The Construction Industry
As you can see there are a variety of benefits of HS2 for Cheshire and Staffordshire, from the local Crewe station to the Stafford one, trains on the HS2 line will be passing through.
Instant Tool and Plant Hire work with those in the construction industry to provide a range of machinery and equipment and understand the difficulties of finding a reliable company to have short term or long term contracts with.
Open 24 hours, 7 days a week, Instant Tool and Plant Hire have a variety of machinery for hire from electric and petrol mixers to JCB 3 ton site dumpers. Call today on the Staffordshire line on 01782 612 000 or on the Cheshire line on 01270 696 777.