Today’s Wright Stuff program featured HS2 – unpopular in Manchester, as a show of hands from the audience revealed.
One of the guests, screenwriter Phil Redmond, made a point that Stop HS2 have made in the past: building a fast route to London will mean more commuting from places like Manchester – it will be like “Manchester-on-Thames” said Phil. There are plenty of places in London where it takes longer to get into central London by tube than it will on HS2 from Manchester.
And this will mean that people will buy large, but relatively cheap, houses in Manchester (and Birmingham, and Leeds) and commute into London.
But this will have a knock-on effect on house prices in these places. If you have London-based employees on London salaries buying houses in these northern cities, then house prices will increase, making them less affordable for local residents on local salaries.
What’s more, the ease of access to work in London, will also mean ease of access to play in London: to see concerts in London, to go to the theatre in London and to shop in London.