THE future of transport in Cumbria and across the North is in the spotlight, as MARK GREEN reports

SHOULD the North get its own high speed rail links? Does the government pay too much attention and pour too much money into the South?

Transport issues have been the centre of attention, after former chancellor and champion of the Northern Powerhouse idea, George Osborne, urged the government to look north when making new investments in the country’s economy.

He wants to see the creation of a high speed rail line – HS3 from Liverpool to Sheffield and onto Hull and Newcastle.

On Wednesday, northern council leaders and chiefs of industry from across the region met in Leeds for a transport summit.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said that “an outdated, expensive and slow transport system” was holding back growth.

He said the country was “London-centric” and “too centralised”, adding that a partnership with the government was essential and urging it to “play your part of the bargain”.

He added: “We can’t do it on our own. We will do our bit and will get our own act together.

“We will develop a plan. We are going to need your backing to make it real.”

At the same time as the Leeds conference, David Brown, chief executive of Transport for the North, was speaking at a smaller meeting of Cumbrian business and council leaders at Carlisle Airport, organised by Carlisle MP John Stevenson.

Mr Brown forecast “huge economic opportunities” for Cumbria if the road and rail network across the county was upgraded.

He told his audience: “Rail transport from east to west and west to east need to be improved.

“We need to reduce journey times.

“Businesses need to make their voices heard – as well as councillors and politicians.”

Transport secretary Chris Grayling has urged northern leaders to do more themselves, rather than call on the government to provide.

He said: “The success of northern transport depends on the North itself.”

Nigel Mills, owner of Trout Hotel and The Lakes Distillery and chairman of the North-East Entrepreneurs’ Forum, called on the government to look north.

He said: “All the major capital projects for the last decade have been in London.

“It is incredibly disappointing that the government continually look at investment in the North as an opportunity that it can afford to miss, rather than an opportunity that they can’t afford to miss.

“I think anything that improves the connectivity of the North definitely benefits us.

“We will also benefit from the A69 being dualled. They are planning something for the A66, but there is always the danger that an election is called and all promises are dropped.”

But he also agreed with Mr Grayling that northern businesses and councils also had to help themselves.

Mr Mills urged local authorities and LEP groups in the region to be more proactive and adventurous in their approach.

He said North East authorities passed up the chance of £30m funding as part of a government devolution scheme. He says the money could have been used to raise £1bn to finance business development in the area.

”It is about taking what little you have and leveraging it, having a much more entrepreneurial and business-like approach to council and local government spending, rather than one in, one out.”

Keith Little is a Cumbria County Council cabinet member with responsibility for highways and transport.

He said: “The North is quite forgotten when it comes to major developments taking place.

“All the local authorities are saying is that we have very little to offer for new developments because of our poor connectivity.

“We are trying to attract big firms to come up and boost employment, but we need better connections.

“There has been huge underfunding in the North.

“In Cumbria we have difficulty with the A69 and the A66 which both need upgrading.

“These are major infrastructure projects and any kind of development funding for major infrastructure has to be built on government funding.

“The trans-Pennine high speed rail link would mean that any businesses already here or thinking of coming here would be able to get to workers and customers in that area quicker.

“But in Cumbria, our coastal line, the Lakes line and the Newcastle line all need new funding or we could lose them to degradation.”

In July Mr Grayling revealed that a promise for a high speed trans-Pennine rail link might not go ahead.

He also said he supported plans for a £26bn Crossrail 2 scheme for London.

Final decisions on both schemes have still to be made.