There’s a collective sigh of relief across the Midlands. This budget statement was always about what was at risk rather than any thought of new investment that might come to the region. Nothing which has previously been promised was taken away.
If you believed much of the pre-game press coverage, then the region’s flagship infrastructure investment ask, HS2, was once again on the table. Of course, in an era of fiscal ‘black-holes’ a multi-billion pound “white elephant”, to its most vocal detractors, was always going to be a target. But the Midlands is resilient, we’ve heard it before, and we continue to strongly make a case for the much-needed investment.
What may have caused some alarm was when it was mentioned HS2 was only described as “going to Manchester”. Jeremy Hunt perhaps forgot that last year’s Integrated Rail Plan HS2 was committed to also going to the East Midlands. We’ve checked the fine-print and spoken to people close to HS2, and there’s no suggestion, at the moment, that the leg to East Midlands Parkway has actually been cancelled. Still, it would’ve been nice for it to be explicitly name-dropped, if nothing else, just to calm the nerves of East Midlands observers!
Elsewhere there was specific mention of a forthcoming Trailblazer Devolution Deal for the West Midlands Combined Authority, although not yet agreed upon. However, we understand from sources in the Combined Authority that this would be more about new powers on housing, education and growth zones than any more major transport investment asks, so even when it comes (slated for early next year), there’s unlikely to be any major infrastructure headlines.
Perhaps just as interesting as another devo-deal for the West Midlands was that the East Midlands was not mentioned as one of the new areas getting devolution funding. That part of the region is still working through which authorities will come together and how any new combined authority might work, so still one to watch for in the future.
Finally, as much as it was positive that the Government reaffirmed that capital spending pots for new infrastructure were vitally important and would be maintained, in reality, the raging inflation in the construction sector effectively means there is less to go around. The Autumn Statement may not have officially cancelled any named projects, but without more funds made available, it feels inevitable that some planned infrastructure in the Midlands could, unfortunately, be cancelled in the future.
Perhaps a bit early for that sigh of relief.
