West Midlands HS2 station plans recommended for approval

Those behind the proposals for Curzon Street Station, the city centre terminus of the controversial HS2 line, previously said the design changes would help to “future proof” the station.

They include a change in material from timber to aluminium within the station roof due to recently tightened fire standards while the eastern concourse has also been replanned.

Construction work on the station began in January last year amid hope it would provide a huge economic boost and serve as a symbol of the city’s ambition

But as “serious challenges” continue to plague the HS2 project, the new CEO recently confirmed that a “reset of the programme” will take place and involve a review of the project’s cost and schedule.

Despite uncertainty over when exactly the first trains will run between Birmingham and London, progress is being made on the design of Curzon Street Station.

Consent for the station, based on an outline scheme design, was secured in 2020 from Birmingham City Council.

HS2’s construction partner Mace Dragados Joint Venture would later reveal proposed design “refinements” last year in September before submitting a planning application.

A council officer’s report, published ahead of a planning committee meeting next week, has now recommended the redesign for approval.

“I am satisfied that the revised design and subsequent external appearance of the proposed station building would still be a world class 21st century landmark building,” it read.

It went on to say that the station would display “high quality architecture and provide a world class passenger experience”.

“It is considered that the impact on the local amenity, heritage assets and surrounding highways would not be any more significant than what was envisaged in 2020,” the report continued.

“Most importantly, the station would contribute to maximising the regeneration and development potential of HS2 in the city centre.

“The HS2 development will help to create more jobs and deliver new homes.”

It also said a combination of factors were involved within the redesign, including value for money, technical complexities, engineering constraints and changes to standards and regulations.

On the HS2 reset, CEO Mark Wild said recently: “This is of a scale never done before – the last mainline terminus we built was 1899 in Marylebone.

“Truth is also the construction has been harder than we would have thought so we’ve lost ground in construction.

“So a combination of factors of getting a little bit behind and also the complexity to come means we need to reset the programme.”

“The good news is that this is all completely solvable and I’m very, very confident,” he added. “But you get one chance to reset it to give people confidence.”

The HS2 Curzon Street Station plans will be considered by the council’s planning committee on Thursday, May 8.