The ambitious Midlands Rail Hub project has the potential to significantly speed up and enhance the appeal of major housing developments across the Midlands, according to a new report.
The report highlights how the Midlands Rail Hub could facilitate new housing across large swathes of the region by providing a sustainable means for residents to access jobs, services, and opportunities, including in the largest cities of both the West and East Midlands.
With the Midlands facing an annual housing need of 21,210 extra homes, and the government aiming to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of the parliament through planning overhauls and accelerated infrastructure project decisions, the Rail Hub’s potential contribution is significant.
The report cites two key examples of how the Midlands Rail Hub can bolster housing growth. Worcestershire Parkway, a project specifically mentioned by the Chancellor in her first press conference, is set to deliver approximately 10,000 dwellings and 50 hectares of employment land. The Midlands Rail Hub will introduce 140 new train services to Worcestershire Parkway each week, offering more frequent connections towards Birmingham, Cheltenham, Gloucester, and Cardiff. This increased connectivity will expand the commutable area for the new settlement, making it more accessible to well-paid jobs in Birmingham and boosting economic growth.
Secondly, Ashchurch is experiencing substantial housing growth, with plans for a large garden town development potentially yielding 10,000 homes, alongside smaller schemes such as the 102-home Fiddington Fields. The Midlands Rail Hub could also deliver an additional 2 million seats annually for passengers and commuters in Ashchurch.
The Midlands Rail Hub is a £1.75 billion blueprint designed to provide faster, better, and more frequent rail connections across the Midlands. The scheme aims to add up to 300 additional trains and 20 million extra seats to the rail network per day into or out of Birmingham. It will also deliver faster, more frequent, or new rail links for over 50 locations, including Nottingham, Leicester, Bromsgrove, Nuneaton, Worcester, Hereford, and Cardiff, while creating nearly 13,000 construction jobs.
“An Enabler for Growth”
Maria Machancoses, CEO of Midlands Connect, emphasised the project’s broader impact:
“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.”
She continued:
“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.
