High Speed 2 railway

High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway to link the cities of London and Birmingham.

We are not involved in the construction or future running of the HS2 line or service. However the construction of Phase One of the line will have an effect on parts of the county’s highway network and so, for this reason, we are working with HS2 Ltd to mitigate the impacts of their work and associated construction traffic in specific locations in the county.

Local disruptions

Phase One was issued with “Notice to Proceed” by the Department for Transport on 15 April 2020 and contracts for the detailed design and construction work have now been signed (referred to as “joint ventures”).

Included in the HS2 scheme is work to create an overbridge and noise barrier at Newton Purcell and a replacement overbridge on the A421 London Road. These projects will result in some disruption locally on the road network and to local communities and the county council will be involved in shaping key HS2 delivery documentation and agreeing any required diversions or mitigation measures.

The construction and commissioning of HS2 is expected to take place in stages between 2018 and the end of 2033. Specific delivery programmes and construction details will be provided by the contractors.

For up-to-date information on planned work and local disruptions please visit the HS2 website for our area: https://hs2inbucksandoxfordshire.commonplace.is/. If you have concerns or questions about the impact of HS2, please contact the HS2 Helpdesk Team on 08081 434 434 or email hs2enquiries@hs2.org.uk.

Joint ventures

Joint venture contracts have been signed to deliver essential early works - including archaeology, site clearance and setting up construction compounds - ahead of the start of the main civil engineering work.

The £900m Enabling Works Contracts cover the whole of Phase One from London to Birmingham and the connection to the West Coast Mainline at Handsacre. Enabling works in Oxfordshire are forecasted from Autumn 2019 to Spring 2021.

Oxfordshire is in the HS2 Central Construction area. The following joint ventures will be appointed for the central area:

Area Central – Fusion JV (Morgan Sindall plc, BAM Nuttall Limited, Ferrovial Agroman (UK) Limited)

As well as archaeology, site clearance and establishing site compounds, the contractors will also deliver a range of activities including utility diversions, ecology surveys, demolition, ground remediation, watercourse activities, highways realignments, monitoring and instrumentation, structural reinforcements and drainage work.

Lorry route applications

HS2 has made two applications to Oxfordshire County Council under Schedule 17 of the HS2 Act for the use of lorry routes to compounds in Oxfordshire. These are routes that were set out in the HS2 Phase One Environmental Statement and use only A roads.

The details can be found here:

The county council is not expecting any further lorry route applications.

Road safety fund

Oxfordshire County Council are in discussions with Councillors, and other relevant parties impacted by HS2 work, regarding proposed road safety schemes in their areas. Funding is to be provided by the HS2 Road Safety Fund from the Department for Transport, who have allocated £1.14million to provide a legacy of road safety to address the impact of HS2 working.