HS2 Ltd Green Asset Maintenance & Management Services

As part of the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Act 2017 (HS2 Act), HS2 Ltd has a legal requirement to mitigate its environmental effects. In addition, HS2 Ltd has a requirement through agreements with the Department for Transport to provide environmental benefits. These requirements and provision of benefits include the provision of green assets.

HS2 Ltd has acquired much of its land temporarily to construct the railway. Some of this land has been or will be developed into environmental mitigation sites (Green Assets), which range from sites compensating for the loss of grassland, scrub and woodland habitats to new receptor sites for ancient woodland soils, amphibians and reptiles as well as other ecological and landscape mitigation sites. Collectively, this is referred to as our Green Corridor, which, once delivered, will span 3,500ha.

HS2 Ltd has adopted a hierarchical strategy transfer Green Assets not required to safely operate the railway, firstly to original landowners, then with other third parties such as NGOs and charities, and then commercial use before any residual assets become part of the operational asset portfolio. The final volumes of Maintenance and Management of residual Green Assets will therefore be dependent upon the levels of these asset transfers.

These green assets, include, but are not limited to the following:

• Woodlands;

• Grasslands;

• Hedgerows;

• Ponds, ditches and other non-engineering related drainage features; and

• Habitat, including bat houses, reptile banks and hibernacula.

Each of these green assets have environmental aims and objectives which can only be achieved through effective maintenance and management (M&M).

HS2 Ltd require Contractor(s) to undertake the M&M of these assets. It is important that M&M of green assets continues to happen to ensure that:

• Our mitigation sites meet their design objectives;

• We achieve our "No Net Loss" requirements and deliver the Green Corridor ambitions;

• We ensure compliance with the Environmental Minimum Requirements (EMRs) and other licence conditions imparted on HS2 Ltd by statutory bodies such as Natural England; and

• We avoid unnecessary reputational damage from failure of habitats and associated programme issues (cost and schedule) of rectifying.