Majority of SMEs fail to see the benefits of HS2, warns FSB

A sizeable majority believe there will no business benefits from the proposed HS2 rail link between Manchester and London, according to a survey by The Federation of Small Businesses’ (FSB) Manchester & North Cheshire.

FSB polled members on the controversial £32 billion project – which has the backing of all the main three political parties – as to whether they thought the scheme would deliver benefits for their business if built.

17.63% believed it would be beneficial to businesses in the area, while 14.1% said they were undecided, and the vast majority at 67.93% failed to see any business benefits at all.

In its recent election manifesto, unveiled at last month’s Labour conference in Manchester, the FSB urged the next Government to guarantee the ‘additionality’ of HS2 investment.

FSB regional chairman for Greater Manchester & North Cheshire, Richard Gregg (pictured right), said: “The Federation of Small Businesses has taken a neutral approach nationally to the development of high speed rail, although this survey suggests – certainly in this region – that many of our members here are unconvinced HS2 will have much effect for them.

“Previous research shows only four per cent consider rail transport as crucial to their business operation, and only 21 per cent state that trains are ‘quite important’ to them.

“The facts are that most small businesses rely on the road network to conduct their business, with six in ten having no choice but to use a car/van for commercial purposes. For many small firms, the road remains king.

“By this we mean the HS2 project does not come at the expense of other much needed infrastructure investment, particularly roads. The roads infrastructure iin this region is already choked at peak times, and this can’t be ignored

“As our latest piece of research shows, many business owners here remain unconvinced that HS2 will work for them, and while that does not mean they are necessarily against it, we need commitments from politicians that HS2 does not become the one and only big transport project at the expense of everything else.

“The next Government must also recognise that high streets and rural businesses face unique challenges and therefore require special policy attention.”