Washwood Heath depot is a planned depot in

Washwood Heath Washwood Heath is a ward in Birmingham, within the formal district of Hodge Hill, roughly two miles north-east of Birmingham city centre, England. Washwood Heath covers the areas of Birmingham that lie between Nechells, Bordesley Green, Stechf ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

for

High Speed 2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...

(HS2), a high-speed railway line under construction in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It is currently in use as a construction compound.

History

Part of the site was previously occupied by factories for

LDV Group LDV Group Limited, formerly Leyland DAF Vans, was a British van manufacturer based in Washwood Heath, Birmingham. Historically part of Rover Group and Leyland DAF, it was later a wholly owned subsidiary of the Russian GAZ Group. Owing to the g ...

and

Wolseley Motors Wolseley Motors Limited was a British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in early 1901 by the Vickers Armaments in conjunction with Herbert Austin. It initially made a full range, topped by large luxury cars, and dominated the market in the Ed ...

. Manufacturing ceased in 2009. It was also previously occupied by the Washwood Heath Railway Works, which was later used by

Metro-Cammell Metro-Cammell, formally the Metropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company (MCCW), was an English manufacturer of railway carriages, locomotives and railway wagons, based in Saltley, and subsequently Washwood Heath, in Birmingham. Purchased ...

and last used by

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

. The land was acquired along with other properties by

St. Modwen Properties St. Modwen Properties limited is a British-based property investment and development business specialising in the regeneration and remediation of brownfield land and urban environments. It is headquartered in Birmingham and has a network of four ...

from Alstom in 2002, who leased it back to companies including Alstom and

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

. The was sold to the government in December 2016 for an undisclosed amount. The Railway Works was cleared in 2019. The site was identified as the favoured location for a depot by HS2 in 2011. In 2018, a row of houses and a motor workshop on Common Lane were compulsory purchased. In February 2021, HS2 began seeking bids for an estimated £275million contract to build the depot.

Usage

The site will contain a rolling stock maintenance depot, storage area, control centre, and facilities for drivers and cleaning staff. It will be the only depot for phases 1 and 2a of the project.

References

High Speed 2 Railway depots in England Rail transport in Birmingham, West Midlands Buildings and structures in Birmingham, West Midlands {{UK-rail-transport-stub