More landscape designs have been revealed by HS2 that show how an area around the River Cole in Warwickshire could be transformed for local people to enjoy. The Design Joint Venture working for Balfour Beatty VINCI JV (BBV) on these proposals consists of global consultancies Mott MacDonald and Systra together with architects Weston Williamson + Partners.
Two HS2 viaducts will be constructed near Coleshill, and the landscape around them will create new public spaces with footpaths and cycleways allowing people to enjoy and better understand their local heritage. The area already has a medieval deer park, and also contains the Tudor Coleshill Manor and the Elizabethan garden which HS2 archaeologists recently uncovered.
CGI visuals of River Cole viaducts
Natural habitats will also be created for local wildlife, and access to water will create opportunities for fishing and walks around the river. The current viaduct designs allow for space to provide a ‘nature-led’ realignment of the river, increasing its biodiversity and to provide flood compensation areas. Habitats and ponds will create new homes for amphibians, dragonflies, otters, great crested newts, reptiles and badgers, which will all benefit from these new ecological features.
CGI visuals of River Cole viaducts
New integrated designs for the structures include reducing the height of the western viaduct from 10m to 4m, which will result in a 36% reduction in materials being used and a 26% reduction in the viaduct’s carbon footprint. Changing the girder from concrete to steel also impacts the environmental benefits, as does a reduction in the use of materials and the construction time, with 97% of the steel coming from recycled sources.
North of the viaducts, embankments around the existing Coleshill Manor will be planted with woodlands designed to complement existing vegetation. Accessible new green spaces will enrich the existing estate by taking inspiration from the parkland landscape setting of Coleshill Manor. The design will highlight the historical and ecological make-up of the site and links between Coleshill Manor and the river.
CGI visuals of River Cole viaducts
Further north, at Chattle Hill near the Water Orton viaducts, there are plans for a ‘blossom walk’ to link to a new community orchard and allotment areas, along with the planting of fruit trees and herbs for foraging.