We visited the Manchester village that will feel the impact of Rishi Sunak scrapping HS2 more than most

This week the prime minister announced plans to scrap the Manchester leg of HS2 after weeks of speculation that the levelling up project would face the axe.

The high speed railway network was supposed to improve travel times and capacity to London, but after years of promises and a pledge from Rishi Sunak that “spades are in the ground”, the Prime Minister told the Tory Conference on Wednesday that the project is officially dead.

Costs for the network had risen dramatically – the initial estimated outlay of £37 billion in 2012 would rise to between £72bn and £98bn in 2023. And in Didsbury, where residents enjoy easy access to Manchester city centre and the train stations by tram, HS2 has been a divisive topic.

Locals had previously shared their fears that the building work for HS2, which would involve a ventilation shaft at the former Hollies Convent School site, was in the wrong place and would be at risk of floods from the River Mersey.

But how do they feel now that the Manchester leg has been officially scrapped?

Kenneth Shawcross, 72, is a retiree from Rusholme who said he thinks the North is always forgotten about when it comes to railway transport. He said: “I knew that they’d scrap it, because Rishi Sunak wouldn’t make a decision one way or another. It was obvious.

“If they started in Manchester to go to Birmingham it would have been finished. How can other countries build all these railways and not us?”

Colm Joyce is a 62-year-old resident. He shared his view that HS2 was simply too expensive and that the money could be put to better use elsewhere.

He said: “I think it’s a good thing, we don’t need it. The service from Manchester to Liverpool is terrible, why not sort that out instead. HS2 would only save 20 minutes travelling to London, why spend so much on that?

“We should give that money to the NHS, or use it to get the trains working properly.”

Successive Conservative governments had pledged that the entire HS2 route would be completed. They said it was a key part of their pledge to create a Northern Powerhouse in the UK, with Greater Manchester at the heart of it.

But a number of Didsbury residents said that any belief they had in the government’s levelling up plans has now gone.

Caroline Hunt, a 61-year-old professor, said: “It’s a disgrace they’ve scrapped it. Of course it would cost money but what will they do with the money they save?”

Heather Spiro, a 74-year-old South African expatriate who now lives in Didsbury, added: “They’ve already spent billions, it seems like a waste of money. The whole project seemed a bit suspect from the beginning. The railway network is rubbish, and going cross country is even worse.”

Speaking outside Manchester’s central library following the decision to scrap the Manchester leg of the network, mayor Andy Burnham summed up what many in the city may be feeling.

He said: “It’s just no way to treat this city, when you’re in this city. I think people look at the way things are done, as well as what is actually done. It’s just disrespectful to these councillors here who have stood behind the case for HS2 even though sometimes it was difficult for us.

“They [the Conservatives] are giving an object lesson tonight in how politics shouldn’t be done. The only thing people here can take from this is that our voice doesn’t matter. This city doesn’t matter. But I honestly believe people won’t forget this moment, they won’t forget how Manchester was treated in this moment.”