Parts of the Euston HS2 station site in Central London are to be chosen for development in the coming months, the Government has said. The Spring Budget included an update on the development, which is currently on hold as officials wait for privately raised funding.
Budget documents released on Wednesday (March 6) also confirmed that ministers are working with Lendlease and the London Borough of Camden. The next stage will be to ‘identify parts of the station site for early release and development in coming months’.
In addition, the Government is focusing on progressing plans for an ‘internationally-leading life sciences hub at the heart of the Euston Quarter’. Papers added: “The Government is establishing a Ministerial Taskforce to oversee the next stages of delivery, set strategic direction and facilitate decision making as well as a Euston Housing Delivery Group to explore options to deliver ambitious housing opportunities and regeneration in the Euston area.”
READ MORE: The London train route getting £4 billion massive upgrade after Spring Budget
Budget documents also detailed that the Euston Housing Delivery Group is aiming to support the development of 10,000 homes in the area with £4 million. In January, MyLondon reported that HS2 is not set to start digging to Central London until 2026.
Engineers broke through into the underground section of the firm’s Old Oak Common (OOC) site on Tuesday, January 23, creating a logistics tunnel that will be used to transport materials to and from two boring machines. These are set to be lowered into the box ready to burrow towards Euston. But, this is not due to start for another two years.
Modelling underway to combat potential ‘bottlenecks’
HS2’s station boss has also reassured Londoners that modelling is being carried out so that London Underground and other transport services are not ‘overwhelmed’ after the firm’s new station in Euston is finished. HS2’s executive stations delivery director, Huw Edwards, told MyLondon that officials are making plans to avoid ‘bottlenecks’ and congestion between National Rail and the Tube.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, had previously expressed concern in October that changes to the Government’s plans for HS2’s terminus in the centre of the city could cause problems on the area’s London Underground connections.
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