Fourteen years ago, a band of experts – engineers, property specialists and environmentalists – rolled into a Warwickshire village to present a plan for a new high-speed line from London to Manchester and Leeds, with the promise of regional economic growth and jobs.
The “once-in-a-lifetime” HS2 project would see trains travel at speeds of up to 250mph, linking the capital with cities across northern England and finally breaking an historic north-south divide.
