Agenda item

Notice of Motion given by Councillor Ian Auckland

That this Council:-

 

(a)       asserts that Sheffield City Centre is the preferred location for a HS2 station, over Meadowhall;

 

(b)       notes that HS2 Ltd's own research shows a city-centre station for Sheffield will bring much better prospects of regeneration to the City Centre; it would create 6000 more jobs and over 1000 more new homes than an out of town parkway location at Meadowhall;

 

(c)        notes that the Government’s plans for the Northern Powerhouse Rail are based upon city centre to city centre connectivity, and siting HS2 in Sheffield City Centre would form the Leeds to Sheffield leg of the Government's plan for Transport for the North, saving the tax payer money in the long run;

 

(d)       notes the report in the Sheffield Telegraph on 16th May 2016 that Business Minister, the Rt. Hon. Anna Soubry MP, said that Sheffield risks losing out on a HS2 Station altogether because the region's Labour politicians can't agree on where it should be;

 

(e)       therefore calls for the Council to write to all South Yorkshire Council Leaders, including the mayor of Doncaster, and South Yorkshire MPs, asking them to back HS2 in Sheffield City Centre; and

 

(f)        calls on the Administration to set up a cross party task force, including other council leaders, MPs and senior politicians, to work together to lobby the Government for a city centre HS2 station.

Minutes:

HS2 Station Location

 

15.1

It was formally moved by Councillor Ian Auckland, and formally seconded by Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed, that this Council:-

 

 

 

(a)      asserts that Sheffield City Centre is the preferred location for a HS2 station, over Meadowhall;

 

(b)      notes that HS2 Ltd's own research shows a city-centre station for Sheffield will bring much better prospects of regeneration to the City Centre; it would create 6000 more jobs and over 1000 more new homes than an out of town parkway location at Meadowhall;

 

(c)      notes that the Government’s plans for the Northern Powerhouse Rail are based upon city centre to city centre connectivity, and siting HS2 in Sheffield City Centre would form the Leeds to Sheffield leg of the Government's plan for Transport for the North, saving the tax payer money in the long run;

 

(d)      notes the report in the Sheffield Telegraph on 16th May 2016 that Business Minister, the Rt. Hon. Anna Soubry MP, said that Sheffield risks losing out on a HS2 Station altogether because the region's Labour politicians can't agree on where it should be;

 

(e)      therefore calls for the Council to write to all South Yorkshire Council Leaders, including the mayor of Doncaster, and South Yorkshire MPs, asking them to back HS2 in Sheffield City Centre; and

 

(f)       calls on the Administration to set up a cross party task force, including other council leaders, MPs and senior politicians, to work together to lobby the Government for a city centre HS2 station.

 

 

15.2

Whereupon, it was formally moved by Councillor Chris Rosling-Josephs, and formally seconded by Councillor Mazher Iqbal, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of paragraphs (d) to (f) and the addition of new paragraphs (d) to (h) as follows:-

 

 

 

(d)       deplores what could be taken as threats made by the Business Minister, the Rt. Hon. Anna Soubry MP, that if Sheffield will not accept the Meadowhall station location, which is bad for Sheffield, they will give the region no station at all, and believes this is particularly appalling given her complete failure to act on the steel crisis and her Department’s decision to relocate 247 jobs in her department from Sheffield to London;

 

(e)       regrets that the Government and HS2 Ltd’s proposal for the Meadowhall location instead of the city centre was formulated under the Coalition Government, with the previous Deputy Prime Minister launching proposals for the HS2 station at Meadowhall back in 2013;

 

(f)        believes that the previous Deputy Prime Minister and MP for Sheffield Hallam has failed to stand up for Sheffield and is responsible for the fact that the previous coalition government pursued Meadowhall as the station location and notes the following comments by the Deputy Prime Minister about the Meadowhall location "If you look at those balance of effects of one location versus another, most fair-minded people would conclude, as the Department for Transport has, that this is a better location.";

 

(g)       notes that the Administration has always made representations to all local stakeholders, including Council Leaders and MPs, calling on them to support a city centre option and that, in recent months, efforts have focused around gaining their support for a review of station locations similar to the review undertaken in Leeds to ensure that decisions are taken based on evidence, and resolves to write to all City Region Council Leaders and MPs asking them to support this approach; and

 

(h)       confirms that there is already joint working in the City Region which is actively lobbying both Government and HS2 Ltd, which includes the Council and key city stakeholders, and believes it is extremely concerning that instead of supporting and participating in this productive work, the main opposition group engage in petty party politics.

 

 

15.3

On being put to the vote, the amendment was carried.

 

 

15.4

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

 

 

 

 

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

 

(a)      asserts that Sheffield City Centre is the preferred location for a HS2 station, over Meadowhall;

 

(b)      notes that HS2 Ltd's own research shows a city-centre station for Sheffield will bring much better prospects of regeneration to the City Centre; it would create 6000 more jobs and over 1000 more new homes than an out of town parkway location at Meadowhall;

 

(c)      notes that the Government’s plans for the Northern Powerhouse Rail are based upon city centre to city centre connectivity, and siting HS2 in Sheffield City Centre would form the Leeds to Sheffield leg of the Government's plan for Transport for the North, saving the tax payer money in the long run;

 

(d)      deplores what could be taken as threats made by the Business Minister, the Rt. Hon. Anna Soubry MP, that if Sheffield will not accept the Meadowhall station location, which is bad for Sheffield, they will give the region no station at all, and believes this is particularly appalling given her complete failure to act on the steel crisis and her Department’s decision to relocate 247 jobs in her department from Sheffield to London;

 

(e)      regrets that the Government and HS2 Ltd’s proposal for the Meadowhall location instead of the city centre was formulated under the Coalition Government, with the previous Deputy Prime Minister launching proposals for the HS2 station at Meadowhall back in 2013;

 

(f)       believes that the previous Deputy Prime Minister and MP for Sheffield Hallam has failed to stand up for Sheffield and is responsible for the fact that the previous coalition government pursued Meadowhall as the station location and notes the following comments by the Deputy Prime Minister about the Meadowhall location "If you look at those balance of effects of one location versus another, most fair-minded people would conclude, as the Department for Transport has, that this is a better location.";

 

(g)      notes that the Administration has always made representations to all local stakeholders, including Council Leaders and MPs, calling on them to support a city centre option and that, in recent months, efforts have focused around gaining their support for a review of station locations similar to the review undertaken in Leeds to ensure that decisions are taken based on evidence, and resolves to write to all City Region Council Leaders and MPs asking them to support this approach; and

 

(h)      confirms that there is already joint working in the City Region which is actively lobbying both Government and HS2 Ltd, which includes the Council and key city stakeholders, and believes it is extremely concerning that instead of supporting and participating in this productive work, the main opposition group engage in petty party politics.

 

 

 

 

(NOTE: Councillors Andy Nash, Bob Pullin, Richard Shaw, Adam Hanrahan, Joe Otten, Colin Ross, Martin Smith, Roger Davison, Shaffaq Mohammed, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Cliff Woodcraft, Ian Auckland, Sue Auckland, Steve Ayris, David Baker, Penny Baker and Vickie Priestley voted for paragraphs (a) to (d) and against paragraphs (e) to (h) of the substantive motion and asked for this to be recorded.)