Land near Euston station

GOVERNMENT promises of “certainty” over whether HS2 will ever be completed in Camden have not materialised, a watchdog warned this week.

Detailed designs for a proposed HS2 station in Euston remain “a good way off” and there are “no firm plans” to complete tunnelling works into Camden, HS2 Independent Construction Commissioner Sir Mark Worthington OBE said in a report.

The continued mothballing of the project – first approved by MPs more than 10 years ago – will cause “more uncertainty and distress for local residents”, he added.

The criticism follows prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s announcement in the last autumn statement that the Labour government would fund the HS2 railway project into Camden.

This overturned a decision to pause works south of Old Oak Common, until billions of pounds in private finance could be raised in what Mr Starmer said would provide “certainty” for residents.

Ten months later the ICC’s report said: “We remain a good way off having a clear outline for the new terminus at Euston. Inevitably, this will cause more uncertainty and distress for local residents. I hope that all parties involved in the decision-making process will focus upon this as quickly as they can.”

Sir Mark added that HS2 work at two “vent shaft” sites, in South Hampstead and Chalk Farm, had been unpaused by the government but had not restarted in reality.

His report added: “Though the Government has given the go-ahead for tunnelling to commence between Old Oak Common and Euston, currently there is no firm plan to complete the works here.

“This may provide a welcome, temporary respite for local residents but as I noted with Euston Station above, it adds to the uncertainty and lengthens the time that the community will be impacted.”

The report added that there was “little clarity on timescale or budgets or a clear plan to fund the £6billion extension”.

A spokesperson for HS2 Ltd said the company’s new chief executive was “taking decisive action to get the project back on track at the lowest feasible cost,” adding that a “fundamental reset is critical to ensure the successful delivery of HS2’s goals – driving economic growth and connecting our biggest cities with fast and reliable journeys”.