{"id":61574,"date":"2015-09-16T12:11:26","date_gmt":"2015-09-16T12:11:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=4cf50fea258852a1035d504d5f951f0b"},"modified":"2015-09-16T12:11:26","modified_gmt":"2015-09-16T12:11:26","slug":"speech-hs2-from-debate-to-delivery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=61574","title":{"rendered":"Speech: HS2: from debate to delivery"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

My message to today\u2019s (16 September 2015) conference is clear.<\/p>\n

HS2<\/abbr> is happening, and it\u2019s time to get ready.<\/p>\n

The HS2<\/abbr> bill is making steady progress through the House of Commons.<\/p>\n

And we are on track to receive Royal Assent by the end of 2016.<\/p>\n

Before the election, we put HS2<\/abbr> in our manifesto as part of our plan to rebalance the economy.<\/p>\n

To transform Britain\u2019s infrastructure by creating new connectivity in the north.<\/p>\n

To release much-needed capacity in the south.<\/p>\n

To secure thousands of skilled apprenticeships and jobs across the country.<\/p>\n

It was a vision backed by the electorate.<\/p>\n

They gave us 5 clear years.<\/p>\n

By which time this project will be well past the point of no return.<\/p>\n

Delivery<\/h2>\n

Since May, we have wasted no time.<\/p>\n

Over the summer we started recruiting for HS2<\/abbr>\u2019s design panel.<\/p>\n

The team of designers who will help decide how HS2<\/abbr> will look and feel.<\/p>\n

Lord Adonis joined HS2<\/abbr> Ltd\u2019s board.<\/p>\n

And last week we announced our plans for Euston, plans that will reduce disruption and allow us to turn the station into a thriving transport and community hub.<\/p>\n

In the coming year, the HS2<\/abbr> bill is set to pass through the hybrid Bill committee and reach third reading.<\/p>\n

And we will also announce how we will take forward HS2<\/abbr>\u2019s northern sections, from Birmingham to Manchester
\nand Leeds.<\/p>\n

So the debate about whether to build HS2<\/abbr> is over.<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s time to discuss the detail of delivery.<\/p>\n

And how cities should plan to benefit from the new HS2<\/abbr> network.<\/p>\n

I am pleased to see these themes running through today\u2019s conference.<\/p>\n

Because those are the themes I want to talk about today.<\/p>\n

\nHS2<\/abbr> procurement<\/h2>\n

The progress we\u2019ve made with the HS2<\/abbr> bill means that we are on course to start building in less than 2 years\u2019 time.<\/p>\n

We have a clear plan.<\/p>\n

To go from managing the HS2<\/abbr> bill through Parliament, to managing the deployment of the thousands of infrastructure professionals along with all the materials and machinery we need to start building the line in 2017.<\/p>\n

We are starting the procurement process by preparing the contracts that will be signed as soon as the bill has passed; some of the largest value contracts in UK<\/abbr> construction history.<\/p>\n

Generating tens of thousands of opportunities.<\/p>\n

Sixty percent of which we expect to be awarded to small- and medium-sized businesses.<\/p>\n

We need everything from architects to aggregates, steel and surveyors, to engineers and environmental consultants.<\/p>\n

We estimate that HS2<\/abbr> will create 25,000 jobs during construction and 3,000 jobs when in operation.<\/p>\n

Not just on site, but right across the UK<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the summer, HS2<\/abbr> Ltd visited Wales to engage Welsh firms interested in opportunities on HS2<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

Last week, HS2<\/abbr> was in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

And in coming weeks they will visit Scotland.<\/p>\n

Skills and apprenticeships<\/h2>\n

The jobs that HS2<\/abbr> will create are an incredible opportunity for the UK<\/abbr>, but also a major challenge.<\/p>\n

Because while we need 25,000 skilled professionals for HS2<\/abbr>, our investment in the existing rail and road networks is creating another 20,000 jobs.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s at the same time as we need skilled people for all our other great infrastructure projects such as flood defences, nuclear power stations and perhaps even Crossrail 2.<\/p>\n

We need many more engineers, surveyors, construction workers, planners, drainage experts and even
\narboriculturists.<\/p>\n

So we are getting ready now.<\/p>\n

We will write into the statute book our commitment to create 3 million apprenticeships by 2020, many of which
\nwill serve infrastructure. <\/p>\n

And we are supporting specialised colleges.<\/p>\n

The Crossrail Tunnelling Academy has enrolled over 10,000 students since opening in 2012.<\/p>\n

This autumn the National Training Academy for Rail will open in Northampton.<\/p>\n

And in 2017, we will open the National College for High Speed Rail.<\/p>\n

Together, these institutions will form a national network of transport infrastructure skills academies to train the
\ntransport workers of the future. <\/p>\n

That is how we will get to the point of construction for HS2<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

Old Oak Common<\/h2>\n

But getting construction under-way is just the beginning.<\/p>\n

We need to plan for day the line is open.<\/p>\n

And how it will transform travel between our cities, as well as transforming the locations it serves.<\/p>\n

Take Old Oak Common.<\/p>\n

A place that hasn\u2019t received the same attention as Euston or Birmingham\u2019s Curzon Street \u2013 yet.<\/p>\n

But a place to which HS2<\/abbr> will bring profound change.<\/p>\n

Old Oak Common is 155 acres of brownfield and industrial land in north-west London.<\/p>\n

It is larger than Canary Wharf or the Olympic Park.<\/p>\n

And under our plans for HS2<\/abbr>, it will be home to one of Britain\u2019s most important transport hubs.<\/p>\n

With a station served not just by HS2<\/abbr>, but also Crossrail, the Heathrow Express, and trains serving the west of England and South Wales on the Great Western Main Line.<\/p>\n

It will be used by up to a quarter of a million passengers every day, providing much-faster connections between Birmingham and Heathrow, Stratford and London\u2019s West End.<\/p>\n

In fact, we estimate that one third of HS2<\/abbr> passengers will use Old Oak Common as their connection hub rather than Euston.<\/p>\n

We know the power of transport to regenerate communities.<\/p>\n

We have seen it at Kings Cross and around many of the high speed stations in France.<\/p>\n

And now we are about to see it at Old Oak Common.<\/p>\n

In April, the Mayor of London set up a Development Corporation to ensure we seize this opportunity.<\/p>\n

If we get it right, our plans for the area could provide 55,000 jobs and 24,000 new homes.<\/p>\n

It will turn Old Oak Common into a destination every bit as important as Euston, Paddington, Kings Cross or
\nBirmingham New Street.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

Those are just a few examples of how we are getting ready for HS2<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

Procurement, training and local planning.<\/p>\n

Themes that you will cover in much more detail throughout today.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s why we welcome conferences like today\u2019s.<\/p>\n

This is an opportunity for our national experts to debate best practice, to learn from the past and from one another.<\/p>\n

In the next few years we will need that expertise, as we follow in the footsteps of our Victorian forebears, and
\nbuild HS2<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The debate about whether to build HS2 is over; now we must discuss delivery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61574"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61574\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}