08.08.14
Concessions on HS2 leave Birmingham delighted
Birmingham has successfully wrenched a number of major concessions out of the government on HS2, including the design of the new Curzon Street station.
The city council and transport authority Centro has concerns about the original design of the station, but they will now join HS2 in setting up a new design panel to improve it.
The government has also agreed to ensure the Midland Metro gets a stop within the HS2 station, to mitigate against the closure of Saltley viaduct during construction, to ensure an earlier completion of the Washwood Heath rail depot, to compensate the city council for the loss of a recycling facility, and for HS2 to compensate or replace “lost open space and business relocations as a result of construction”.
Waheed Nazir, the city's director of planning and regeneration – interviewed by RTM following his team’s insistence that Birmingham “would not accept” a boxy, basic HS2 station – has been praised for achieving the concessions.
The concessions mean that the city council is no longer going to give evidence the to committee hearing petitions on HS2. However, it, Centro, and Solihull council still have issues with the HS2 Interchange station.
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