London Mayor Sadiq Khan has rubbished the Department for Transport’s (DfT’s) plan for the private sector to fund the proposed High Speed 2 (HS2) connection from Old Oak Common to Euston station.
In October,
the government confirmed the prime minister’s vision of a “Euston Quarter” with a six-platform HS2 station and “up to 10,000 homes” will only go forward with private investment.
During his HS2-cutting speech during the Conservative Party Conference in October, Rishi Sunak announced that the development of HS2’s London terminus, which was originally planned to be 11 stations, would be wrested away from HS2 Ltd and taken over by a government-appointed development company.
During Mayor’s Questions last week, Khan said the dream of the private sector paying the estimated £6.5bn for the “Euston Quarter” was never going to be a reality.
He said: “There’s not a cat in hell's chance of the private sector completely paying the £6.5bn.
"Who’s going to build the tunnel from Euston to Euston Square? Who’s going to build the connection from Euston to Old Oak Common? Who’s going to improve the public realm? Who’s going to give permission for 10,000 homes and the impact on the local community?”
While the DfT’s permanent secretary Bernadette Kelly wrote to the Public Accounts Committee saying that “under the new plan for Euston the HS2 station is expected to attract private funding”, Khan doesn’t believe this is the case.
In his speech Khan also queried where the money the government believes it will save from getting the private sector to pay for the “Euston Quarter” will be spent.
He said: “What the government said is the money they saved from doing this will be reinvested in other projects, but where are the other projects in London for the money they’ve taken away from this leg?
“Lots and lots of questions we are still waiting for answers on.”
In March this year,
the development of HS2 Euston was put on pause for two years, leaving a 24ha open construction site dormant in the centre of London.
While the site is paused, the government sought to deliver a new design that would bring it back into budget. This was the second restart of the design after
it had previously spent £105M on the 11-platform design which was mothballed and no longer of use.
The DfT has hit back at Khan’s comments saying it is using a similar approach to the successful regeneration of King’s Cross and the Battersea and Nine Elms development, which included both the Northern Line extension and development of the Battersea Power Station. The Battersea Power Station development was able to secure £9bn in private sector investment.
DfT officials further believe Euston sits in an internationally significant commercial district close to a world-leading cluster of scientific, research and development institutions, giving the site increased value thanks to the improved connectivity HS2 infrastructure will bring.
The department said establishing a Development Corporation to deliver Euston will enable it to cut through red tape with the potential to develop up to 10,000 homes.
Euston Partnership chair Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill said: “I welcome the certainty of HS2 terminating at Euston, and the proposed Development Corporation to take the station and regeneration forward to deliver connectivity, growth, jobs and homes.
“This is a real opportunity to create a transformative Euston quarter with as many as 10,000 homes, echoing the regeneration success stories of Battersea and nearby King’s Cross. I am sure the partners will work collaboratively with the government to work through the financial and other mechanisms to make this work.”
A DfT spokesperson said: “As has always been planned, the line will finish at Euston. This is a world class regeneration opportunity and there is already extensive support and interest from the private sector to invest.”
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