CPA Bulletin

www.cpa.uk.net CPA Bulletin > November 2023 15 POLICY: 2 • Trading conditions were affecting 58% of respondents. • Supply chain issues only affected just under 8% of companies. Although only a short survey of CPA members, the findings mirror wider concerns and views within the construction industry, with output in the sector falling for two successive months. August saw a decrease in new work and while the wider economy grew 0.2% across the month, output in construction fell 0.5% in volume terms. The cancellation of the Birmingham - Manchester section of HS2, has only added to the current lack of confidence we are seeing in the construction sector. Stopping the enabling and development work that had already started on sections of the line under the initial planning work of phase two will be relatively simple, however, other issues are still to be resolved. Capacity issues on the main west coastline remain an issue. With mainline commuter, local traffic, and freight trains using the line, HS2 was designed to remove some of these trains away from the existing line and utilise the new tracks. This problem has not gone away and in theory, will get worse if plans to remove more trucks and vans off the road and onto freight trains, are to take shape. As part of plans to save money, earlier this year, the Euston end of the Birmingham to London part of HS2 was put on hold for two years, with Old Oak Common the new, temporary, London terminus. Rishi Sunak seemed to imply the plan had now changed, with the line now finishing at Euston, as planned. As ever, the devil is in the detail. In the days after the Prime Minister’s speech, the government confirmed that finishing the line at Euston was an ambition and subject to the private sector investing in the Euston area, with a view to commercial and residential development around the new station. For the foreseeable future, the Euston HS2 site remains in mothballs, its future and that of the surrounding area, effectively stuck in limbo. For rail plant operators, HS2 was set to provide companies with extra work on maintenance and repair, and while work will be undertaken on the parts of the line that will be built, the wider cancellation will undoubtedly have an impact. Cyclical issues of work, and access to track time have been well documented within the rail plant sector. Although the Manchester to London high speed line will not have solved these issues totally, it would have helped companies to some degree. If the UK is to enhance its reputation as an attractive destination for future foreign investment, then we can ill-afford another situation like HS2 to occur. The government must reach out to the construction sector, with a long-term plan that will provide confidence in what the government is planning and how it can be delivered. It means realism on the part of industry when setting contracts and a degree of flexibility in pricing. When HS2 was first given the go-ahead in 2012, no one could predict over the course of the next decade, there would be a global pandemic, a major European conflict, and a rise in inflation and interest rates not seen since the 1980s. However, it is vital that long-term infrastructure projects are given the long-term vision and commitment to see them through. The next government and the one after that, will not see the first trains run on HS2. But if we are to upgrade our infrastructure and address the challenges that the country continues to face, such as addressing ongoing problems in planning reform, or upgrade our energy infrastructure capacity, then learning from the failure of HS2, must happen. Announcing Network North is a start - we now have to see the rhetoric actually backed up by the government, with action. The government said costs on HS2 had become too high. Failure to learn from what has happened to the UK’s biggest rail project since the Victorian times, will come at an even higher cost.