HS2 to deliver £1.3bn in economic benefits for West Midlands

The West Midlands is set to make more than £1.3 billion from HS2, according to figures revealed today.

moreAreas which will benefit most from the £42.6bn Government project include Sandwell, which will make £130m, Walsall is set to gain £117m, and Birmingham will make £764m from the line.

But Staffordshire – likely to be hardest hit in the Midlands by the controversial line – will make considerably less from the plans, with Stafford making just £26m and South Staffordshire gaining £19m.

If the proposals go ahead, the high speed rail line could pass through 45 miles of Staffordshire, slicing in half the Staffordshire County Showground.

The second phase of the project will cut through large parts of countryside surrounding Stafford and Stone. Phase one will link London to Birmingham, passing through Whittington and Lichfield in Staffordshire.

The areas in Staffordshire most likely to benefit from the line are Cannock and Lichfield, which will jointly gain around £98m.

Elsewhere in the Midlands, Dudley is set to make £83m from the line, while Wolverhampton will make £65m.

The figures on the economic benefit of the line have been released following a Freedom of Information act request.

However, Stafford MP Jeremy Lefroy said: "It will bring very little benefit to Staffordshire. I continue to believe that HS2 is not the right solution."