Network Rail given six months to resolve Old Oak Common land issue which could delay HS2

Network Rail has until July to acquire land for a maintenance depot at Old Oak Common - or risk delaying the HS2 project.

A planning inspector has recommended that NR’s application for a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) to house a temporary road rail access point (RRAP) and construction compound should be refused.

NR had applied for the order in April 2023, to assist with construction of the new Old Oak Common station on the realigned Great Western Main Line (GWML).

It said the only suitable location was Crown Estate land off Horn Lane, Acton. The site is in possession of the Crown Estate because it was previously considered ownerless.

The application also included a request for rights of access over neighbouring land owned by Bellaview Property Ltd for a permanent RRAP onto the GWML.

In a decision letter dated January 9, the planning inspector accepted there had been “no substantive evidence...to indicate the scheme is not necessary and acknowledges that not granting the order is likely to delay the delivery of Old Oak Common station, and in turn HS2, by at least a year”.

However, they added that HS2 could still be delayed “for a number of other reasons”, and that not granting the order “could be immaterial”, noting that the permanent RRAP wouldn’t be operational until 2030.

“Consequently, the Inspector concluded that there is no compelling case for the scheme as currently drafted, to justify interfering with the human rights of those with an interest in the land and conferring the order powers on the applicant,” they concluded

NR said any delay “would result in significant cost impacts, reduced efficiency of delivery, and reputational damage”.

Officially, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has the final decision, but this has been delegated to Mike Kane, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Aviation, Maritime and Security.

Kane said he was not in a position to decide whether to accept the inspector’s recommendation, but was “minded to approve the application”, agreeing with NR’s stance that a potential delay to HS2 is a “significant consideration”.

However, approval is dependent on Network Rail demonstrating by July 9 that it has either acquired, or agreed to buy, the land from the Crown Estate - something which cannot be done via compulsory purchase.

The planning inspector’s letter said: “It must be acquired via agreement with the appropriate Crown department. To date, this has not been agreed.”

In a stance that complicates matters, the letter also said the Crown Estate was “not willing to enter into an agreement for the transfer or sale of the land until such time as the order is granted”.

HS2 Ltd is funding and assisting NR’s bid to acquire the land. A spokeswoman said: “We have been supporting Network Rail with this prior to the commencement of the TWAO process.”

Bellaview Property Ltd also wants to acquire the land. The Crown Estate confirmed to RAIL that the site was “subject to multiple offers of interest”.

A Network Rail spokeswoman said it had received the decision letter and would “respond to the points raised”