Cost likely to be higher once inflation taken into account
The section of HS2 around a controversial structure built to protect bats will cost 拢168m before inflation is taken into account, according to the government.
A letter from the Department for Transport (DfT) to the chair of the public accounts committee set out the anticipated cost of the Sheephouse Wood bat mitigation structure.
The structure, which is being built near Calvert in Buckinghamshire, has drawn a great deal of public attention amid rising costs on the rest of the high-speed rail scheme.
The 900m-long mitigation structure covers the railway as it passes through a landscape including Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
The area is home to 13 species of bat, including the Europe鈥檚 most northerly known population of Bechstein鈥檚 bat. All bat species and their roosts are legally protected under both domestic and European legislation.
Responding to a letter from Clifton-Brown sent earlier this month, Jo Shanmugalingam, interim permanent secretary at the department, and HS2 chief Mark Wild, wrote that the estimated cost of the structure on its own was 拢95m.
This and all other figures included in the letter are based on 2019 prices, with the ultimate cost likely to be significantly higher as a result of inflation.
The above ground elements of the structure are expected to cost 拢70m, with 拢25m going to below-ground civils work.
A more detailed breakdown revealed that the most significant cost element was 拢49.7m spent on the manufacture and installation of arches, infill ventilation panels, including lightning protection and ancillary works. Design alone cost 拢5.3m.
However, the total cost of the section of the railway that includes the bat structure was revealed to stand at 拢168m.
The construction costs of the bat mitigation structure constituted 36.6% of the overall costs of the section of the line according to the letter, while the contractor鈥檚 (EKFB) costs, including design, risk, fee, direct works and fuel, was 28.6%.
The public accounts committee had also asked for all costs up to date for the mitigation structure.
However, the department said an exact figure was not possible to provide.
鈥淎s you know, sub-contractors in the HS2 supply chain will typically be supplying materials and services which are deployed across the construction of the railway in this area,鈥� they said.
鈥淭his means that their price and payment will span multiple activities 鈥� for example, hired plant equipment will be used across all elements of the works, not just on the bat structure.
鈥淭his makes it difficult to isolate costs incurred to a specific asset like the bat structure.鈥�
However, it said the incurred and committed cost to date for the whole section of the railway was 拢91m.
A spokesperson for HS2 Ltd said: 鈥淎round half the costs presented here are associated with the foundations and substructure required to stabilise the railway as it passes the landfill site and woodland - and would have happened regardless of the specific bat mitigation measures.
鈥淭he demands of the UK planning and environmental consents process come at a high cost, largely out of HS2 Ltd鈥檚 control.
鈥漈o comply with laws protecting vulnerable species, including internationally protected bats near Sheephouse Wood, a covered structure over the HS2 line is being built.
鈥滱 range of alternative options were reviewed and rejected on the grounds that they were more expensive or failed to pass the legal test.鈥�
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