Hundreds of jobs promised in £570m HS2 Curzon Street Station deal

Nearly 1,000 jobs have been pledged as a joint venture is agreed to deliver Birmingham's Curzon Street Station development for HS2.

The £570m deal was signed between construction firms Mace and Dragados.

Andy Street, the West Midlands' newly re-elected mayor, said the project would deliver "hundreds if not nearly a thousand jobs" for local people.

HS2 Ltd also revealed plans for the station to be net-zero carbon once open incorporating eco-friendly designs.

These include 2,800 m2 (30,000 sq feet) of solar panels on canopies covering platforms and rainwater capture.

Mr Street, who was re-elected as the region's Conservative mayor on Saturday, said jobs would initially be focussed in design, for instance architects and surveyors, before "we actually get to people constructing the site on the ground".

He said the West Midlands Combined Authority had plans to "set up a training and skills hub to get people ready for those jobs".

As part of his campaign, Mr Street pledged 100,000 jobs in the West Midlands and said HS2 was "at the very heart" of those plans.

Plans to develop the Grade I listed Victorian Curzon Street Station were signed off in 2017 and since then contractors have completed site clearance works and an archaeological programme which unearthed the world's oldest railway roundhouse.

Mace and Dragados have helped to deliver projects including Battersea Power Station, Mumbai International Airport's terminal two building and Spain's high speed rail network.

The companies have also been contracted to build HS2's London Euston terminus.

HS2's chief executive, Mark Thurston, said Curzon Street would "play a vital role in the long-term economic future of the West Midlands" and "boosting the region after the pandemic".

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