LEIGH MP James Grundy has expressed his "relief" after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has indicated the Golborne spur will be taken out of the HS2 project plans.

Mr Grundy and fellow Conservative, Warrington South MP Andy Carter, asked Mr Shapps about the future of the route, which would run through Lowton and Golborne.

And the cabinet member has cast doubt on whether it will be included in the HS2 project, which was approved by Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday, Tuesday.

In a statement, Mr Shapps said: “The Golborne spur is currently projected to cost between two and three billion but delivers very little for that sum.

"The writing is on the wall as far as the future of the Golborne spur is concerned.

"We expect to make the final decision on it in months, not years.”

Leigh Journal:

Leigh MP James Grundy

READ > Infrastructure boost and attracting skilled jobs vital in improving social mobility says MP

Mr Grundy, a long-serving Lowton East councillor, has campaigned against the Golborne spur for years.

He said the proposed line enters Lowton in the south, and "would destroy the Enterprise Way business park, meaning the loss of more than a hundred skilled jobs in a constituency".

Mr Grundy said: “I welcome the strong indication by Mr Shapps that the Golborne spur of HS2 is to be cancelled.

"I have been campaigning against this poorly conceived idea for over seven years now, and it will come as a great relief to thousands of my constituents in both Golborne and Lowton, including members of my own family, that this saga is finally coming to a close, and people can again have certainty when it comes to investing in their homes and local businesses.

“We need instead to concentrate on re-opening local stations like Golborne and Kenyon Junction in order to reconnect Leigh back to the national rail network, and I fully intend that to be my next task.”