Doubt over HS2 line from Birmingham to Leeds as building date yet to be set

The future of the HS2 in South Yorkshire has been thrown into fresh doubt after the government failed to give a firm date for building work to start.

It was reported over the weekend that the rail line from Birmingham to Leeds is going to be scrapped over rising costs, however, the Department for Transport has said no decision has been made on when the £40m east leg of the rail link will be delivered.

The section from Birmingham would skirt Mansfield and Chesterfield before heading to South Yorkshire and Leeds.

The Conservative MP for Rother Valley, Alexander Stafford, has said that money should be spent on connecting local services rather than benefiting a "couple of Leeds city centre businessmen".

Mr Stafford told ITV News: "It [HS2] will not have any positive impact on everyday lives of people in the north of England, people in the Rother Valley, people in the red wall.

"What we want is that better local connectivity to our local cities such as Manchester, our local towns such as better bus links and now we have the opportunity to use some of that money that was going to go to HS2 to invest in transport we desperately need."

• Alexander Stafford is against HS2 being built.

Henri Murison, from Northern Powerhouse Rail, said: "What we need is more capacity so that we can improve local services and we can also better connect the North, particularly with the Midlands.

"That connectivity, for instance, from Leeds down to Nottingham is truly terrible and that prevents people from the East Midlands being able to take jobs in Leeds and Sheffield - we need to change that to make our northern cities more attractive and better places for businesses to locate."