HS2 Ltd has revealed the first images of its Washwood Heath Depot in Birmingham.
The Washwood Heath Depot is HS2’s maintenance facility and main control centre for HS2’s entire network and will create 550 jobs for the local area.
The depot’s site is northeast of Birmingham city centre and will be where trains will be maintained, serviced and stored when not running. The Maintenance building will also contain the Network Integrated Control Centre (NICC) alongside the Cleaners and Drivers building. All of the site’s buildings have been designed to celebrate engineering and to create sustainable working alongside outdoor facility spaces for employees.
The building’s designs include a high level of controlled and natural lighting which cuts the need for artificial lights in the daytime. Solar roof panels, reusing rainwater runoff from some roofs, sustainable drainage, renewable energy, low carbon materials and intelligent lighting offer extra environmental benefits throughout construction and operation.
The design of landscaping and green spaces also play an important role as each building will have a specially designed theme with outdoor social spaces for staff and areas which will return biodiversity alongside broader habitat connections.
Pedestrian and cyclist accessibility has also been included in the design with dedicated routes connecting Birimighans future transport network. Car, cycle and motorcycle parking with provision for electric vehicle charging points have been included with parking for those with limited mobility featured at all depot facilities alongside taxi and delivery vehicle drop-off zones,
HS2’s Engineering Delivery Partnership (EDP) has produced the designs.
Richard Kirkham, HS2’s Head of Delivery Project said: “Our design team have been focused on ensuring sustainability is incorporated into our Washwood Heath Depot site and it is a great example of HS2’s environmental ambitions. It’s also a pivotal site providing hundreds of crucial jobs for people in this area of Birmingham, highlighting the long-term economic benefits that HS2 is delivering for the region.
“We’re also working closely with Birmingham City Council and other key stakeholders to achieve aspirations for the wider area to the south of the Washwood Heath Depot site which provides the opportunity to create more jobs, connectivity, and environmental benefits.”
Russ Dale, Project Manager at HS2’s Engineering Delivery Partnership said: “These images are part of an ongoing design process which will be refined and developed over the coming months by our expert team. Before we submit the designs to the local Council for approval later this year, we are sharing them with the community and asking people for feedback around areas of our design.”
The primary hub of operations for the site will be the Maintenance Building which will be used to maintain the HS2 train fleet whilst providing facilities to store both materials and equipment. The building also features office accommodations, workshops and staff welfare facilities. Approximately 250 staff members will work in the building and will include management, fleet management, production, cleaning and depot drivers.
The NICC will oversee the entire HS2 network and has been located at a central point of the Washwood Heath depot site. This building will be standalone and will accommodate the operational and management functions of the HS2 network. More than 100 staff members will be based in the building and will feature a control room, gym and canteen.
The Cleaners and Drivers Building is on the western side of the depot and will house facilities for train servicing teams and driver training. This build will be connected to the stabling yard area which will hold trains for cleaning and replenishing in order to be ready for passenger service. Approximately 200 staff members will be based in this building.
The Stabling Yard area is also on the western side of the depot and will be where trains are parked whilst not in operation.
Demolition on the site to date includes building and groundwork in order to prepare the site for the building of the new Depot and Control Centre.
Two in-person community information events will be taking place in July and will give local residents and businesses the chance to speak to the project team.