Contracts on four HS2 stations up for grabs

HS2 are planning to hold a competition for architects to submit their design ideas for some major stations along the route.

The four major stations that are offered in the competition include Euston and Curzon Street in the city of Birmingham.

Expected to cost in excess of £43 billion in total, HS2 has released the initial schedule for forthcoming expenditure, which in this case will go towards design work on Euston, Old Oak Common, Birmingham Interchange and Curzon Street stations.

The architect-led designs could see the plans for Euston taken back to the drawing board after the desgins by Grimshaw were widely criticised by both Camden council and the landowner of the Euston estate, Sydney & London Properties.

A spokesman for HS2 said “The first stages of the procurement process for the main stations contracts will begin towards the end of the year.”

“We are still at the early stages of agreeing the contract arrangements and it may be different for south and north stations due to programme/complexity.”

This news follows recent controversies regarding materials supply chains. Ministers have been loudly proclaiming that it is imperative that Whitehall departments specify British steel throughout the project in a desperate bid to help save struggling steelworks, however, it has recently been discovered that the office in charge of procurement does not hold a record of how much it currently purchases. A revelation that many feel is reckless and irresponsible, given the fact that the very future of the UK’s biggest steel plant hangs in the balance after Indian owner Tata Steel announced last week it wants to sell its loss-making UK operations.

The knock on effect of this also jeopardises the future security of the Port Talbot works in South Wales, with some estimates suggesting that over 40,000 jobs are at risk, including workers and staff at businesses reliant in the plant.

HS2 continues to power forward in an attempt to reunite the North and South in terms of wealth and health. However, how much damage will it do along the way?