HS2 Euston - Development, design and construction news (not speculation, please)

[hwl]

It won't. Cutting back to 6 platforms allows some of the land to be used for housing and over-site developement.

Rishi's Manchester hotel room cut back planning team were unaware there are protected sight lines from Primrose Hill and Parliament Hill (and other locations as well that don't affect HS2 at Euston) to Parliament and St Pauls. This limits wat can and can't be done with land at Euston and the far west side of the site that the team were salivating over is very problematic for tall buildings hence a 10/11 track HS2 station with over track development actually produces more building square footage when you take into account sight lines...

 

[Geogregor]

Rishi's Manchester hotel room cut back planning team were unaware there are protected sight lines from Primrose Hill and Parliament Hill (and other locations as well that don't affect HS2 at Euston) to Parliament and St Pauls. This limits wat can and can't be done with land at Euston and the far west side of the site that the team were salivating over is very problematic for tall buildings hence a 10/11 track HS2 station with over track development actually produces more building square footage when you take into account sight lines...

That is not surprising as most politicians have zero grasp of planning constrains, engineering constrains etc. Most of them studied humanities.

If for a monument we discount political anti-rail views of Sunak and his team there are too few folks around government who have any sort of technical background.

 

[Tezza1978]

Rishi's Manchester hotel room cut back planning team were unaware there are protected sight lines from Primrose Hill and Parliament Hill (and other locations as well that don't affect HS2 at Euston) to Parliament and St Pauls. This limits wat can and can't be done with land at Euston and the far west side of the site that the team were salivating over is very problematic for tall buildings hence a 10/11 track HS2 station with over track development actually produces more building square footage when you take into account sight lines...

I knew about the sightline issue from previous posts on here, but didn't realise that meant there can actually be more development on top if the 10/11 track version is built.

If the govt had any brains then surely the larger "box" will then be built with passive provision for the extra platforms at least. It may not be up to them anyway given the election is < 6 months away - as any "plan" they have can be amended by the next govt before work starts on the station build

 

[Fazaar1889]

The Rishi 6 platform version seems to be a short term bodge that can never be expanded, or if it is will cost 2-3 times what building the bigger shell in first place and not changing the design would have.

On the assumption that the 6 platform stations goes ahead and then later the rest of HS2 is built in full. How would they expand it? Would they just knockdown the housing they just built?

If anything, that just seems to me like rishi is saying "haha look at me, I care about you guys! I'm building housing! See!" while contributing almost nothing to counteract the housing crisis.

 

[BRX]

Rishi's Manchester hotel room cut back planning team were unaware there are protected sight lines from Primrose Hill and Parliament Hill (and other locations as well that don't affect HS2 at Euston) to Parliament and St Pauls. This limits wat can and can't be done with land at Euston and the far west side of the site that the team were salivating over is very problematic for tall buildings hence a 10/11 track HS2 station with over track development actually produces more building square footage when you take into account sight lines...

More square footage than what? Is this assuming that the space at low level, that would be occupied by the platforms, could not be used for anything else?

 

[hwl]

More square footage than what? Is this assuming that the space at low level, that would be occupied by the platforms, could not be used for anything else?

No the aim was to have small footprint station leaving more land clear for other development unfortunately unbeknownst to Rishi's hotel room team those potentially "clear" areas can't have very tall buildings, hence tall buildings are needed to maximise overall development floor space (which they they are when sightlines are included) then you have to have you have to have tall building over the new HS2 station further east if possible where the top of the building can be much taller.
The problem is that this is expensive and Camden council viewed all this extra cost for over station development as something that meant they should get more S.106 benefit from based on % value of overall non rail exclusive development where as everyone else view was that Camden should get less because of the restrictive planning conditions.

In reality Rishi didn't get any real vote bounce out of it and Euston tunnelling isn't meant to start till summer 2025 so not much cost impact now (cheaper than cancelling for short term cashflow which is mostly what they care about at the moment).
Euston tunnelling should start shortly after the eastbound TBMs from Northholt complete their work.

 

[chris2]

This limits wat can and can't be done with land at Euston and the far west side of the site that the team were salivating over is very problematic for tall buildings

those potentially "clear" areas can't have very tall buildings, hence tall buildings are needed to maximise overall development floor space (which they they are when sightlines are included) then you have to have you have to have tall building over the new HS2 station further east if possible where the top of the building can be much taller.

So if you can’t really develop the land why would they not put the new station there?

Surely the only alternative to this is knocking more of the existing Euston down? Won’t that trash the capacity and bring even more disruption and delay? Not to mention be an awful kick in the teeth for anyone who lost their home for a station that never got built and became someone else’s home instead??

 

[hwl]

So if you can’t really develop the land why would they not put the new station there?

Much easier for the next government to come to that conclusion, but then Kier is the local MP which also causes many complications... (more than when Boris's dad lived locally.)

awful kick in the teeth for anyone who lost their home for a station that never got built and became someone else’s home instead??

Rishi hotel room team were also severely lacking in knowledge of compulsory purchase legalisation - there will be legal action if Rishi's plans get much further

 

[chris2]

So is the smart money on a return to the original plan then?

 

[poffle]

I think a lot of the issues with Euston is with the HS2 station being a standalone project whereas there actually needs to be an integrated plan for the HS2 and Network Rail station. And the potential Crossrail 2.

 

[hwl]

I think a lot of the issues with Euston is with the HS2 station being a standalone project whereas there actually needs to be an integrated plan for the HS2 and Network Rail station. And the potential Crossrail 2.

Bingo!

 

[The Planner]

Bingo!

There is though, there is a Euston redevelopment team that is working with HS2.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

So is the smart money on a return to the original plan then?

But the original plan was "unaffordable" and "unachievable", which is where we came in.
Rishi also took the project off HS2 Ltd as a punishment for screwing it up.

 

[Fazaar1889]

But the original plan was "unaffordable" and "unachievable", which is where we came in.
Rishi also took the project off HS2 Ltd as a punishment for screwing it up.

So.. what happens now? Is it still with Rishi or is it going back to HS2?

 

[Snow1964]

So.. what happens now? Is it still with Rishi or is it going back to HS2?

Sort of stuck in the middle at the moment

HS2 can do token amount of work, ticking over during the 2 year construction pause, but without finance can't really go any further. The Government controls the finance.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

So.. what happens now? Is it still with Rishi or is it going back to HS2?

It's very definitely with Rishi and his advisors, together with the consortium they put together to redesign (and fund) Euston.
But is does look like the approach tunnels from OOC (still with HS2 Ltd) will be completed, so HS2 will reach Euston somehow.