Willmott Dixon has completed the HQ for the team running Britain's largest infrastructure project - HS2.

The company delivered a Cat B fit-out of over 100,000 ft2 of space over four floors to create the new headquarters of High Speed Two Ltd at 2 Snowhill, Birmingham. The contract was procured through the Constructing West Midlands Framework.

This prime location in Birmingham's Colmore Business District will enable the HS2 team to carry out important planning work for the high speed rail link, with the offices themselves achieving a BREEAM rating of excellent.

Working within an already tenanted building, Willmott Dixon operated under strict conditions in order to minimise disruption to other firms to deliver four fully fitted floors, a reception area, flooring, partitioning plus modifications and enhancements to existing Mechanical and Electrical services.

Peter Owen, managing director for Willmott Dixon in the Midlands:

“HS2 is such a strategically important project for our country’s ability to grow and compete globally that it was an honour to be responsible for creating the office environment for its team to take the plans forward. We have a large presence in Birmingham through our construction, housing and repairs activities, and are looking forward to creating another important part of the city’s business infrastructure.”

Clive Heaphy, Director of Finance Operations for HS2 Ltd:

“Birmingham will be at the heart of the HS2 network and we were delighted that Willmott Dixon were able to deliver our requirements to such a tight timetable, enabling us to get a strong presence in the city early in the programme’s life.”

Willmott Dixon is also lined up to create more facilities for high speed rail, with planning permission recently granted for the National College for High Speed Rail (NCHSR) sites in Birmingham and Doncaster. The Birmingham College has been procured via the Constructing West Midlands Framework and the Doncaster site through Scape Group’s Major Works framework.

The Birmingham campus for the college will be a three-storey hi-tech building adjacent to Aston Science Park and together with the 7,200 m2 site for the college at Lakeside in Doncaster, will encourage investment into the area and provide new jobs for local people.

The NCHSR will provide specialist vocational training and will develop a multi-skilled workforce that is essential to the delivery of HS2 and the ability of the UK to respond to future rail infrastructure projects.

Willmott Dixon is one of Birmingham’s largest employers in the construction and property sector, with over 1,000 staff based with a ten mile radius of the city. It recently completed two large buildings for Birmingham City University and its 4Life Academy in Perry Barr trains over 4,000 local people a year in a range of construction industry skills.