A landmark railway building in Birmingham city centre is to be refurbished as part of HS2 station work. The city council has agreed for the grade I-listed Old Curzon Street Station to be leased to HS2 and refurbished as part of the work on the new Curzon Street Station. The station will initially link Birmingham with London before later phases connect the city with the north. The building was designed by Philip Hardwick and opened in 1838 and was initially intended to be a boardroom for the London and Birmingham Railway.
The Curzon Street Masterplan outlines proposals for 141 hectares of regeneration. It covers the area that will house the HS2 Curzon Street station in Birmingham city centre, along with £724m million in investment into the surrounding area. It envisages the creation of 36,000 new jobs,4,000 new homes and 600,000 square metres of commercial development. Curzon Street station will be the first brand new intercity terminus station built in Britain since the since the 19th century. Eventually, there will be 9 trains per hour direct in each direction from the station.
The station design will maximise the benefit of natural resources such as sunlight and water and have new public spaces surrounding it. It will use the latest eco-friendly design and sustainable technologies including capturing rainwater and sustainable power generation. The station will be built to achieve a ‘BREEAM excellent’ standard and zero carbon emissions from day-to-day energy consumption.
The designs will also incorporate the existing historic Old Curzon Street building and link it to the new station’s eastern concourse at New Canal Street. It also aims to improve access to different modes of transport, with the Midland Metro running alongside and underneath the station, pedestrian routes to local bus services, Sprint rapid transit bus services and other train services and space for more than 250 bicycles.
Birmingham City Council’s Curzon Street Investment Plan will see £900 million spent on regenerating the area around the new station. The scheme will take place over 30 years, leading to the creation of several new neighbourhoods across almost 150 hectares, including 4,000 homes and 36,000 jobs. Curzon Street station will be the first brand new intercity terminus station built in Britain since the since the 19th century.
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