“The cancellation of the Manchester to Birmingham leg of HS2 is likely to be a catalyst for claims – a lot of claims! These will range from potential disputes between HS2 and its direct contractors, the broader supply chain which would otherwise have supported the project, through to end users who may have made location/investment decisions based on the expectation of the line being built and now looking for exit routes or compensation. Such claims are likely to crystallise in clusters.
An already over-burdened civil court service will not have the capacity to cope with the plethora of potential claims or be able to adequately address many of the commercial impacts . It surely makes sense that disputes are dealt with quickly, efficiently, fairly and costs-effectively. Otherwise, valuable resources, people-hours and costs are going to be wasted which, due to the massive scale of HS2, could hit the overall UK economy hard.
Is this the moment when a systematic approach to the use of mediation perhaps combined with other processes, proves itself as the best option of first resort for parties affected by the cancellation of HS2. CEDR runs a number of schemes which deploy various dispute resolution processes to resolve particular types of disputes. Based on this experience, CEDR CEO James South and 2022 NMA mediator of the Year Amrik Kandola, an infrastructure specialist, believe it’s a conversation which needs to happen – now….”
Video Contents:
Intro
The implications of the HS2 Manchester leg cancellation from a dispute point of view
If disputes arise, is a mediation scheme a good way to manage the fallout?
The use of more hybrid type processes
Being flexible and not just using a regular mediation process is important
Utilising mediation is a non-adversarial solution to the problem
