Rail expert speaks at city HS2 summit

Henk Bouwman, who is working for the Independent Transport Commission, will explain the economics of the two possible locations at the ‘Making the case for Sheffield City Centre HS2 station: the role of business’ event on 18th February.

Henk, who is Dutch, established his own urbanism practice Urban-imPulse in 1998, which specialises in managing change in city centres and station districts in Europe and Asia.

He has just finished a study on UK Rail 2065 for the Foresight programme (Government Office for Science) and worked on a long-term vision for Crewe Superhub.

Richard Wright, Chamber executive director, said he was chosen because he was impartial.

He added: “We are keen to use impartial speakers who explain clearly the economic issues around the location of an HS2 station in the city region.

“This has to be a hard-nosed economic decision that delivers the maximum benefits to the economy and the population of the whole region.

“Henk is a leader of the Independent Transport Commission which is shortly to release a report on HS2 and its benefits and is uniquely placed to explain the issues we should consider when making the decision.”

The Chamber is backing a city centre station as it delivers the best economic return for the region.

The summit is at 8am on Thursday February 18 at The Memorial Hall at Sheffield City Hall. To book a place go to www.scci.org.uk/events.