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Roads closed as demolition work begins to make way for HS2

BBC Curzon Street stationBBC
Grade I-listed Curzon Street station opened in 1838 and closed in 1966

Demolition work designed to prepare for HS2 is taking place, closing a main road in central Birmingham.

The Fox & Grapes pub in Digbeth is to be knocked down, with Park Street closing from 21:00 BST.

Park Street will reopen as a single lane on Monday and then fully open on Tuesday, the city council said.

The pub is making way for the HS2 Curzon Street station development which will see the former station transformed into a seven-platform HS2 hub.

Birmingham Connected The Fox and Grapes in DigbethBirmingham Connected
The Fox & Grapes was ravaged by fire a few years ago

Shops, offices, a hotel and 2,000 homes will be developed on land around it.

HS2 is the £55.7bn planned high-speed rail network initially running between London and Birmingham by 2026, before a second phase expands it to Manchester and Leeds.

Earlier this week, MPs including Sir Bill Cash, the Conservative member for Stone in Staffordshire, called for a review into HS2, describing it as a "dying a white elephant". However, the government said it was committed to the project, which it said was of national importance.

Birmingham City Council Artist's impression of Canal Street, BirminghamBirmingham City Council
The Curzon Street station will link up the first London-to-Birmingham phase of HS2 with the second phase towards Leeds and Manchester