Midlands Rail Hub could ‘speed up’ housing delivery says new report

The Midlands Rail Hub project could help speed up and make more attractive major housing projects throughout the Midlands, a new report outlines.

Midlands Rail Hub could help to facilitate new housing across large parts of the region. It will do so by providing a sustainable means for people to access jobs, services and opportunities, including in the largest cities in the West and East Midlands.

The new report highlights the annual housing need of the Midlands as 21,210 extra homes per year. Housing is a top priority for the nation, with aims to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of the parliament. The government will do so by overhauling planning rules and removing red tape, accelerating decisions for major infrastructure projects.

Cited in the report are two major examples of how the Midlands Rail Hub scheme can support housing growth in the region.

Worcestershire Parkway, a project mentioned by name by the Chancellor in her first ever press conference, will deliver approximately 10,000 dwellings and 50 hectares of employment land, to be delivered in phases alongside adjoining neighbourhoods near Worcestershire Parkway railway station. Midlands Rail Hub will add 140 new train services to Worcestershire Parkway a week, giving more frequent services towards Birmingham, Cheltenham, Gloucester and Cardiff. This will increase the commutable area for the new settlement, allowing the area to become more commutable to well-paid jobs in Birmingham, boosting economic growth.

Secondly, Ashchurch is experiencing significant housing growth, with plans for a large garden town development with a potential 10,000 homes, alongside other smaller developments such as a 102-home scheme, Fiddington Fields. Midlands Rail Hub could also deliver 2 million extra seats a year for passengers and commuters in Ashchurch.

Midlands Rail Hub is a £1.75bn blueprint for faster, better and more frequent connections across the Midlands. The scheme will add up to 300 additional trains and 20 million extra seats on the rail network per day into or out of Birmingham and provide faster, more frequent or new rail links for over 50 locations including: Nottingham, Leicester, Bromsgrove, Nuneaton, Worcester, Hereford and Cardiff and creating nearly 13,000 construction jobs.

Maria Machancoses, CEO of Midlands Connect said:

“Our new report shows how the Midlands Rail Hub project can support the government’s housing mission and help to speed up vital housing projects in the Midlands. Transport can help make the Government’s vital mission, building the homes we need, a reality.

“But the scheme can and must do more than that; it must be an enabler for growth. To make those communities flourish, we need strong and better access to well paid jobs and amenities. Midlands Rail Hub sits at the heart of that.

“Our new report shows how our flagship project could be another building block in that story, helping to deliver a national priority.”

The Midlands Rail Hub project is co-sponsored by Midlands Connect, the Department for Transport and West Midlands Rail Executive.