HS2 Summer Works, Looking Forward!

Digbeth Social Enterprise Quarter hosted HS2 Ltd and Laing O’Rourke and J Murphy and Sons Joint Venture (LM-JV) in February to discuss the Curzon Street Station developments spring works. We discussed pending works in the area and consulting with local organisations as to how this could affect their businesses and how any disruption could be minimised.

HS2 Ltd have summer works update looking ahead at the upcoming works over the summer and reviewing the works that have been conducted so far. The works appear to be progressing at a steady pace, with initial archaeological works having been completed over park street gardens, hoardings have been installed, initial ground investigations have been started (continuing into July) and a section of Fazeley Street in between Park Street and New Canal Street has been permanently closed.

As we arrive into a hot summer new works are underway with further works planned for later in the year, here is a quick rundown of some of the planned works:

  • A full archaeological excavation of Park Street Gardens will begin around August following the surveys in the first half of the year.
  • The Old Curzon Street Station building will start to be restored with the wasteland behind being secured to be incorporated into the stations works area. The Grade I listed Curzon Street building will be transformed into office space and a public information area.
  • Ground preparation will begin across the station site, creating a suitable surface to allow for the stations construction to begin.
  • Investigations will begin in August to identify existing utilities locations to help plan where new utilities can be installed, this may require the temporary closure of some of footpaths and roadways.
  • The car parks between Moor Street Queensway and Park Street will be secured in July and the car park on the wasteland behind Curzon Street Station will be secured in August. This will be to bring them into the station work area, they will no longer be accessible by the public.
  • Improvement works will begin on the Lawley Middleway to improve traffic flow. This will require some traffic management which could cause disruption.
  • The Fox and Grapes on Park Street will be demolished in mid-September. Further information on planned demolition works is available.

LM-JV and HS2 have a number of scheduled public drop in events, you can find details of these events here, with further information about LM-JV’ and HS2’s community engagement strategy available here.