The councils have said that the Government has made no firm plans for development at the proposed Park Royal City International interchange. The station will be the final stop before trains terminate at Euston station and around a third of all HS2 passengers are expected to transfer onto other road and railway connections there.
Up to 21,000 new homes and 196,000 new jobs could be created if the railway design was "optimised to facilitate development above and around the HS2 hub station, as well as the Kensal Green Crossrail station," the councils said in a statement. The additional development would be worth £74 billion and the site could accommodate up to 25% of London's growth over the next 30 years, they said.
The councils said that major projects like the HS2 are often planned in "Government silos", which limit the potential of the schemes and provide "very little opportunity to understand the rationale behind the decision making process". Plans to provide wider benefits, such as new homes and community facilities, are too often regarded as costs that risk delays, they said.
“A radical shift is needed in the way Whitehall interacts with councils if we are going to maximise the potential of major infrastructure projects to generate growth,” said Hammersmith & Fulham Council leader Nicholas Botterill.
“HS2 is not just a railway line, it has huge potential to be the catalyst that creates large numbers of new homes and jobs along the route. But Government departments need to work more closely with local authorities so that we rewire services around people and places rather than Government silos,” Botterill said.
“Maximising regeneration and development on the back of major infrastructure projects needs to be a cross-government responsibility. In the case of the HS2 that means central Government needs to work with us to ensure that the configuration of the stations and depots at Park Royal City International and Kensal support regeneration," he said.
