HS2 college to be situated close to Innovation Birmingham Campus

LAND near Innovation Birmingham Campus – formerly known as Birmingham Science Park Aston – is to be used for the new National College for High Speed Rail.

The Government announced yesterday that the college is to be split between Birmingham and Doncaster.

They were chosen ahead of Manchester and Derby, which were also shortlisted as possible locations for the college.

The new college ‘hub’ and a number of ‘spokes’ based across the country will provide training to the next generation of engineers working on the HS2 project and beyond.

The Government said the quality of bids had been very high overall and all had been assessed against a range of criteria including the size and availability of a suitable site, accessibility, and the potential to develop strong links with employers and providers already operating in the sector.

The Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership said the Birmingham bid would have the provision to train thousands of people in the skills necessary to deliver the HS2 project, which will link London with Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds via high-speed trains.

Led by a private sector steering group, the Birmingham bid also enjoyed the support of a network of almost 60 businesses involved in rail and construction.

Alongside Birmingham City Council, it also harnesses the talents and resources of the nine FE colleges involved in the Greater Birmingham & Solihull FE Consortium and the LEP’s three universities.

The college is due to open in 2017, which is when work on phase one of HS2 – the link between Birmingham and London – is due to start.

Birmingham, previously unveiled as the construction HQ for the project, was chosen for its “location at the heart of the high-speed rail network”.

London Crossrail boss Terry Morgan will chair the college’s governing board alongside representatives from Birmingham and Doncaster.

Birmingham City Council leader Sir Albert Bore welcomed the announcement and said the fact the college’s governing board would be based in the city was “hugely encouraging”.

“This gives the city a real advantage and will be a boost to Birmingham’s economy and that of the wider region,” he said.

Jerry Blackett, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “We have recently launched our Skills Hub so have already established a strong working relationship with the nine Further Education colleges in Greater Birmingham and Solihull and we anticipate that there will be massive opportunities for strong collaboration.  

“We stand to benefit tremendously from this development which will help us to upskill our existing workforce and provide new opportunities for the supply chain.”

Professor Jon Binner, deputy head of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Birmingham, said: “The University of Birmingham is delighted that the city has been chosen as a location for the new, elite National College for High Speed Rail and the rail industry.

“Through our internationally leading Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education, as well as other parts of the university, we will support the new college strongly and are sure that it will be a tremendous success. We are all looking forward very much to seeing it operational.”

However, shadow universities minister Liam Byrne said the college announcement was a “big step forward” for Birmingham, but HS2 remained a “mixed blessing” for the city.

He re-stated his objections to a planned high-speed maintenance depot on the former LDV factory site in Washwood Heath, in his Hodge Hill constituency.

The land was previously earmarked for an industrial development that could support up to 7,000 jobs. The proposed depot would create about 650 roles, according to government plans.

“Now we need to complete the picture and press on to relocate the job-killing marshalling yard planned for Washwood Heath,” he said.