On 26th August, Wednesday a HS2 transport hub will be built in Solihull after planning bosses gave the green light to proposals. The HS2 Interchange Station will feature six tracks and 7,000 parking spaces when it is built on green belt land near the NEC.
The hub is expected to cater for 10 high speed trains in an hour. It is one of the two new stations in the county that will serve the first phase of the rail line along with Birmingham's Curzon Street, which was approved back in April.
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said, "HS2 has got a critical role to play in the West Midlands’ economic recovery by driving investment and helping to provide tens of thousands of jobs. Given the climate emergency the West Midlands is facing, it is also great to see how eco-friendly these plans are.
“It is brilliant news that the Interchange plans have been approved by Solihull Council, and I look forward to working with both the Council and HS2 Ltd to make sure we maximise the potential of this site.”
Committee members also approved 7,269 long-stay bays and a driverless people mover at Wednesday's meeting. But work was stopped at the giant HS2 building site a day later after environmental campaigners broke in and locked themselves to a digger. The Curzon Street compound was breached by members of the Extinction Rebellion and HS2 Rebellion groups.
It comes amid a series of planned protests across the country - from London to Bristol to Manchester - with the Birmingham demo aimed at throwing a spotlight on what activists called "HS2’s trail of destruction through our countryside".
