The government has declined to confirm whether existing contracts over the construction of HS2 Euston will still stand under the new plans for the station.
Meanwhile, the UK’s biggest contractor Balfour Beatty, which has yet to win work on this part of the mega-project, was represented at a meeting to discuss future plans for the area and other government infrastructure plans.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced two weeks ago that the Euston station project would be privately funded and removed from HS2 Ltd’s responsibilities.
A document published by the Department for Transport (DfT) shortly afterwards said: “We will also take on the lessons of success stories such as Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms, which secured £9 billion of private sector investment and thousands of houses.
“So we will use the future growth that the station will trigger to support its development, to make sure we get the best possible value for the British taxpayer, and to make sure the funding is supported by the contributions of those people and companies that support its development.
“At the same time, we are significantly increasing the ambition of the redevelopment of Euston, where we will seek to establish a development corporation to create a transformed Euston Quarter, potentially providing up to 10,000 homes.”
The Battersea and Nine Elms schemes led to the extension of the Northern line of the London Underground with funds raised from developers in the area.
The DfT has refused to confirm whether contracts already awarded for Euston will remain in place under its new plans. The contracts include a £1.3bn deal for a Mace/Dragados JV to build the station and a £4bn deal with Lendlease, which was named lead developer for the works on and around the station
The re-execution of the project’s procurement processes could mean more time for the delivery of the works, Construction news understand
A department spokesman said only that HS2 would be committed to the supply chain and that the DfT would provide more details in a future update to Parliament.
A Mace spokesman said: “The Government’s commitment to deliver a new high speed rail terminal at Euston is very welcome. We believe a privately funded development model can deliver a cost-effective and value-based solution that will allow high speed rail to reach central London.
“Mace, together with our joint venture partner Dragados, is committed to supporting HM Treasury, the Department for Transport and HS2 in developing delivery proposals for Euston that can be built to the current timescales “.
A spokesperson for Lendlease said its master-developer agreement remains in place. He added: “We welcome the announcement that HS2 will end at Euston – and are committed to delivering a transformation of the area above and around Euston station to deliver new homes, new jobs and support to institutions, companies and local communities.
“At the heart of our vision is the aspiration for Euston to become an inclusive and globally connected community. We look forward to working in partnership with partners to deliver this and help unlock the area’s full potential for everyone who lives or works there”.
Last week, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt met with a number of contractors, consultants and investors following the government’s announcements.
Representatives from Skanska and Costain, which along with Strabag hold the tunneling contracts for the area as part of the £11.85 billion major civil works package for the south, were at the meeting.
Attendees included Mace, consultants Arup, Mott MacDonald, AtkinsRéalis and WSP, as well as Balfour Beatty.
A Treasury statement on the event said Hunt described how the £36bn reinvestment earmarked for the rest of HS2 would mean “more local transport improvements for towns and cities, starting sooner and finishing faster”. and emphasized the change of plans for Euston.
He also “welcomed the views of the sector on what are the main challenges facing the sector [the government’s] Autumn Statement, and what the government can do to address them to boost infrastructure investment and delivery,” according to the department.
Balfour Beatty, Skanska and Costain were approached for comment.
