Clyde & Co to advise on pioneering Trans-Pennine Connect project linking Manchester and Sheffield

Global law firm Clyde & Co will advise Trans-Pennine Connect, a Future Works project in the UK that will create a direct transport link between Manchester and Sheffield for the first time. Supporting the project from inception through to delivery, Clyde & Co will advise on a wide range of legal matters, including project finance, planning, real estate, construction, corporate, commercial, tax and regulatory.

Manchester and Sheffield are the largest pair of UK cities without a dual-carriageway connection, despite being just 40 miles apart. Trans-Pennine Connect aims to address this by delivering a 14-mile dual-carriageway tunnel beneath the Peak District. The scheme would remove trans-Pennine traffic from the National Park while restoring the former Woodhead railway route alongside the road tunnel.

The project will introduce Scandinavian tunnelling techniques to the UK, using the drill-and-blast method commonly employed in Norway. The Pennines' geological and topographical characteristics make this innovative and cost-effective approach particularly well suited to the scheme.

The Clyde & Co team is led by Partners Graeme McLellan (Project Finance) and Victoria Peckett (Construction) and includes Simon Vere Nicoll (Corporate), Brian Greenwood (Planning) and Will Deeprose (Real Estate).

Graeme McLellan, Partner, said: "This project will be transformative, accelerating significant economic growth, improving connectivity between two of the UK's largest cities and reducing traffic through the Peak District. Delivering a project of this scale requires expertise across every stage of delivery, and Clyde & Co’s infrastructure delivery specialists are uniquely placed to provide the support needed to turn this ambitious vision into reality." 

Victoria Peckett, Partner, said: "Projects of this significance demand more than technical excellence; they require a coordinated approach to navigating varied and complex challenges. Clyde & Co's multidisciplinary infrastructure team is proud to support developments that help shape the UK's future."

Future Works was established by infrastructure specialists Michael Dnes and Alex Griffiths, who have collectively worked on more than £100 billion of infrastructure projects. Their objective is to develop a shovel-ready scheme and accelerate its progress through the planning process, challenging the lengthy timelines that have become common for major UK infrastructure developments.

Subject to approvals, construction could begin before the end of the decade, with both the road and railway expected to open in the mid-2030s.