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New Birmingham station looks like a bubble wrap slug, say HS2 protesters

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A 'bubble wrap slug' – that is what campaigners fighting the HS2 line have dubbed a masterplan for a train station planned to serve it.

moreStop HS2 has slammed the appearance of the planned Birmingham Curzon Station.

The campaign group has also criticised the fact the exact cost of this Birmingham development, being built to take services along the proposed £42 billion HS2 line, has not yet been revealed – or who will carry out the work.

It comes after Sir Albert Bore, leader of Birmingham City Council, said he believed the authority would need to find money to fund some of the infrastructure surrounding the development.

HS2 Ltd, which is behind the project, has said it would not reveal the costs of individual stations along the route, but said the scheme would be a 'collaborative effort' between itself and the council. Stop HS2 campaign manager Joe Rukin said the design for Curzon Station was a 'bubble wrap slug.

He added: "We have seen lots recently for proponents of HS2 saying how great it will be, without any mention of who will pay for it. Pro-HS2 lobbyists do not want to say that commuters will pay via increased fares and services cuts, that businesses will have to pay increased rates and councils will have to make more cutbacks to cough up for the supposed benefits of HS2, but that is the truth and the public need to know.

With Crossrail, the majority of the funding didn't come from the DfT, and if local passenger transport executives who are already cutting back will have to cough up for HS2 stations, along with councils having to pay and businesses facing a hike in rates to pay, the measly level of support for HS2 completely dries up."

HS2 Ltd chief executive Alison Munro said: "HS2 offers a great opportunity for investment and jobs around the station, and for the wider region. We are committed to working closely with Greater Birmingham partners and the local Eastside and Digbeth communities to bring this scheme to life."