Ealing Council Leaders Sing Praises of HS2 Project
Cabinet members pay a visit to the construction site at Old Oak Common
Cllr Peter Mason (right) visiting the construction site
May 25, 2023
Two members of the leadership team at Ealing Council were keen to stress the benefits of HS2 to the local community after a recent visit to the Old Oak Common construction site.
The massive building project will see the creation of a new superhub station and has caused significant disruption to people living in the area in terms of noise, traffic and pollution.
However, Ealing Council Leader, Cllr Peter Mason and Cllr Bassam Mahfouz, Lead Member for Decent Living Incomes want to focus on the benefits that the scheme brings to the local area including the provision of opportunities for training and employment.
Work began on the site less than two years ago on what will be the largest new railway station ever built in the UK. With it becoming increasingly unlikely a tunnel to Euston station will be built in the foreseeable future, it will become the London terminus of the new north-south high speed rail link
Balfour Beatty VINCI SYSTRA (BBVS), HS2’s construction partner, is undertaking the excavation works ready for the station’s six HS2 platforms, which will be built underground. They will connect with eight conventional rail platforms at the superhub’s ground level, which will serve destinations on the Great Western Main Line, as well as integrating with east–west Elizabeth line services.
During the visit, Cllr Mason and Cllr Mahfouz heard about HS2 is attempting to provide employment opportunities at the site. To date, HS2 and its supply chain partners say they have supported 128 formerly unemployed Ealing residents into new careers, with a further 27 taking up apprenticeship programmes.
Huw Edwards, HS2's Project Client Director for Old Oak Common (right) welcomes Cllr Bassam Mahfouz
Huw Edwards, HS2’s Project Client Director for Old Oak Common said, “HS2’s arrival is transforming the local area and helping to transform the lives of local people too.
“This is one of the biggest transport-led regeneration projects in the country, and it’s vital that local people benefit, now and in the future. We’re delighted over 150 local residents are already playing their part in HS2’s construction, and we’re committed to working with Ealing Council to boost that number going forward.”
Cllr Mason and Cllr Mahfouz met 18-year-old Ealing resident Tyler Pearce-Scott who began his apprenticeship journey with BBVS in 2021. Now two years into his Information Communication Technician (ICT) apprenticeship, Tyler is a part of the team supporting the complex IT infrastructure across the site. His performance has led to further investment in his career development, and Tyler will now progress onto a degree-level IT Apprenticeship later this year.
Tyler said, “Cllr Mason and Cllr Mahfouz were really interested in my school-to-career journey. I found it hard to readjust to classroom-based study after the pandemic and made the difficult decision to leave Elthorne Park Sixth Form in Ealing to find employment.
“Securing an apprenticeship on HS2, which allows me to combine working full-time with a day of online learning, was the perfect fit. This has been a great career move, and I’m delighted that I’ve completed my Level 3 apprenticeship and will now progress onto a degree-level apprenticeship.”
Elliott Murphy, Skills, Employment and Education Manager for BBVS said, “We are determined to ensure that local people, like Tyler, become our professional colleagues of tomorrow. Our goal is to leave a sustainable legacy comparable to the iconic station that we are building”.
Commenting after the visit, Cllr Peter Mason, Leader of Ealing Council, said, “Ealing’s unrivalled transport connectivity will be further boosted by the High Speed 2 station at Old Oak Common – but that’s just the start of the benefits that the renewal of the Old Oak site will offer our borough.
“As part of the UK’s largest and most ambitious regeneration programme, it has already brought thousands of jobs and apprenticeships to the borough and, by adding to the outstanding office and industrial spaces already found here, it will deliver thousands more for generations to come.
“We were delighted to see for ourselves the progress being made at the site.”
For more information about careers and opportunities on HS2, visit hs2.org.uk/careers