{"id":503767,"date":"2024-08-09T13:03:11","date_gmt":"2024-08-09T12:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/?p=503767"},"modified":"2024-08-09T13:09:21","modified_gmt":"2024-08-09T12:09:21","slug":"hs2-firms-should-give-more-notice-of-works-says-commissioner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/civils\/hs2\/hs2-firms-should-give-more-notice-of-works-says-commissioner-09-08-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"HS2 firms should give more notice of works, says commissioner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Contractors working for HS2 should give the public more notice about future construction works, the commissioner for the mega rail project has said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark Worthington, independent construction commissioner for HS2, said contractors \u201care sometimes too cautious about announcements, preferring to make them only when all elements [of a programme] have been put together\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis can mean that although local authorities are informed at an early stage, communities can be left behind. I would like to see contractors look more closely at this,\u201d he added in the 29th quarterly independent commissioner\u2019s report, published on Thursday (8 August).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cContractors must continue to engage with the public actively and clearly. Maximum advance notice should be given of future works even if there is a danger of timescales changing\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Elsewhere in his report, Worthington said that two parts of HS2 \u2013 the link north from Birmingham and the development between Old Oak Common to Euston \u2013 had \u201csuffered from great uncertainty\u201d since then prime minister Rishi Sunak paused works last October.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The commissioner said he understood that \u201cmajor decisions cannot be rushed\u201d and \u201cministers will want to review their options\u201d, but an \u201cearly announcement of intent would be warmly welcomed by those communities most impacted\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDelay and uncertainty create enormous difficulties for local residents who remain unclear as to where the project is going. We will all welcome any guidance which the new government can give,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Construction work at HS2 Euston and on a 4.5 mile tunnel between Euston and Old Oak Common has been paused<\/a> while the government decides whether to extend the high-speed rail line to central London.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sunak previously took the development of the Euston site out of HS2 Ltd\u2019s hands, saying that the work could only go ahead if the project received private funding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, uncertainty remains over how the HS2 network will connect to the North after Sunak\u2019s decision to scrap the HS2 leg from Birmingham to Manchester<\/a>\u00a0and what construction works will be required as a result.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

HS2 chair Jon Thompson, in a letter<\/a> published on Thursday and sent a week earlier, said the public client body \u201crecognises that uncertainty about the future of Euston Station is having an impact on residents and local businesses\u201d.<\/p>\n

In the letter to HS2 residents\u2019 commissioner Lord Jackson, he said: \u201cWe are continuing our engagement with local communities about our ongoing enabling works and are progressing plans with Euston partners to open a community hub later this year to provide an information resource on developments taking place in the wider area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have identified areas within the HS2 Euston site which can safely and temporarily be handed back to the community, to reduce the impact of the pause to construction of the station. The first of these \u2018meanwhile use\u2019 sites opened on Hampstead Road in July last year, with several more sites set to open this year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Contractors working for HS2 should give the public more notice about future construction works, the commissioner for the mega rail project has said.\u00a0 Mark Worthington, independent construction commissioner for HS2, said contractors \u201care sometimes too cautious about announcements, preferring to make them only when all elements [of a programme] have been put together\u201d.\u00a0 \u201cThis can …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90383,"featured_media":487268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[39314],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n