Category Archives: Issues

BRS earthworks approaching completion

Posted on by

From HS2

We’re writing to update you about earthworks currently taking place at our site on Breakspear Road South.
HS2 Works Notification: Earthworks at the site on Breakspear Road South to be completed by 5 May 2025

We wrote to you in December 2024 to update you on works for the retained embankments construction at our site on Breakspear Road South, from 17 June 2024 to 31 March 2025.

These works have been delayed due to reduced availability of lorry deliveries. Our permitted lorry movements are limited, and we had to use some of them to move tunnelling materials off-site during this period of works.  In addition, heavy rain in January and February made it impossible to carry out the required compaction tests for the embankments. As a result, we now expect to complete the works by 5 May 2025.

For further details please follow this link.  https://www.hs2.org.uk/work-items/update-on-earthworks-at-the-site-on-breakspear-road-south/#msdynmkt_trackingcontext=556f0a93-da1a-41de-aed7-fcfe049a0300

HS2 updates

Posted on by

1    Breakspear Rd South – Road Closure under Railway Bridge for Culvert Replacement – Sat 05/04/25 to Sun 27/04/25 (3 Week Road Closure) 
Following on from the Trial Holes under a 2 Week Road Closure from 29/07/24 to 11/08/24 HS2/SCS have finalised their design for the new Culvert to be installed near to the Chiltern Line Bridge on Breakspear Road South. 
There will be a final Road Closure of 3 Weeks in duration to install the new Culvert and following talks between LBH and HS2/SCS it has been agreed that these works will now take place at Easter 2025. With a Road Closure of this length of time whenever it is programmed in will result in traffic disruption on local roads but LBH will work with HS2/SCS to minimise this as much as is possible.
 
Schedule of works:
•    Sat 05/04/25 to Sun 27/04/25 = 3 Week Road Closure (which would be the 2 weeks of the School Holidays plus 1 week afterwards)
•    LBH School Easter Holidays = start Fri 04/04/25 – back to School on Tue 22/04/25
•    Good Friday = 18/04/25 / Easter Sunday = 20/04/25 / Easter Monday = 21/04/25
With the School Holidays taking place from 04/04/25 to 22/04/25 the only works taking place outside of the School Holiday period would be the final week from Tue 22/04/25 to Sun 27/04/25 (4 normal School days plus Saturday & Sunday).

2    Diversion of U43 (adjacent to Breakspear Road South) – During Road Closure for Culvert Replacement – Sat 05/04/25 to Sun 27/04/25 
HS2/SCS are planning on using the upcoming 3 week Road Closure of Breakspear Rd South (around the HS2 Site/Chiltern Bridge area) between 05/04 and 27/04 to also do some de-vegetation works along where the U43 is currently diverted adjacent to Breakspear Rd South. 
While the de-vegetation works take place HS2/SCS plan to divert users of the U43 into their Site to make room for these works
3    Decommissioning and Removal of Rail Siding at West Ruislip Portal – March to May 2025 
The last Night Time delivery of TBM Segments by Railway to the West Ruislip Portal took place on 14/03 so now works have begun to decommission and remove the Rail Siding that accesses the HS2 Site from the main Chiltern Railway Line. 
The sequence of the works begins with the removal of the track happening first, followed by the removal of the ballast.  
It is expected that the Rail Siding will be completely removed by May 2025.
 
4    HROC Bridge on Harvil Road – Update Following Inspections  
HS2/SCS recently closed Harvil Road for 6 Nights per week (excluding Friday Nights) between midnight to 5am from 17/02 to 17/03 to carry out 170 Inspections of the Butt Welds on the underneath of the new Bridge (HROC) that carries traffic across the Chiltern Railway Line on Harvil Road. 
HS2/SCS have advised LBH that only about 50% of the total number of Inspections were completed during the recent Road Closures for a number of reasons: 
•    Cancelled Shifts due to Bridge Manufacturer Resourcing Issues
•    Cancelled or delays to Shifts due to Network Rail withdrawing/changing Railway Possession at short notice
•    Issues with working around Birds Nests
•    Each Inspection taking longer than expected  
This means that HS2/SCS will be requesting further Night Time Road Closures of Harvil Road around the beginning of May to complete these Inspections (they expect they will need another 3 weeks worth). 
HS2/SCS have to rehire the specialist Crane used for the Inspections which is not available for another month or so plus there is the Breakspear Road South Road Closure from 05/04 to 27/04 for the Culvert Replacement so any further Bridge Inspections would have to be scheduled after that. The results of the Inspections completed thus far are all being sent to HS2 Design House for review and analysis and this work is still ongoing so there are no results to be shared with LBH at present.

5    Decommissioning and Removal of Rail Siding at West Ruislip Portal – March to May 2025
The last Night Time delivery of TBM Segments by Railway to the West Ruislip Portal took place on 14/03 so now works have begun to decommission and remove the Rail Siding that accesses the HS2 Site from the main Chiltern Railway Line. 
The sequence of the works begins with the removal of the track happening first, followed by the removal of the ballast. 
It is expected that the Rail Siding will be completely removed by May 2025.
 
6    SCS Noise Barrier Testing near Breakspear Road South – June 2024 to June 2025
There will be Noise Barrier testing from late June 2024 until at least June 2025 for up to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week within the HS2/SCS Site to the west of the entrance off Breakspear Road South. Noise Barrier Testing commenced on 27/06/24 with the Generator and Actuator Instrument being used 24/7 to test the piles and the ground around them in the 1st Phase of testing.
A temporary embankment has been constructed in the area where Noise Barriers have been installed and the structural integrity will be tested. The scope of the testing is to confirm that the pile foundation and the structure will not have any significant changes due to Trains passing the Noise Barrier. The anticipated level of noise impact is expected to be minimal and will include the use of a generator which will power the instrument that will simulate the movement of the trains passing (the generator will be covered in acoustic barriers to minimise the noise). 
HS2/SCS are gearing up to commence the next Phase of testing, MFD (main fatigue and dynamic test) testing of the Noise Barrier Panels which is now expected to commence in April 2025 and be completed by the end of June 2025. A test setup of the Noise Barriers will be constructed like the image below. The panels will be fixed to the piles and secured by the torsion beam (which have already been tested) and continuous shaking of the panels will be undertaken 
Upon completion of the MFD testing of the piles, HS2/SCS will commence the Acoustic testing of the Noise Barrier Panels, the test acoustic barriers will be fitted with Acoustic Absorbers and rubber gap filler and Acoustic Steps. It is hoped that these tests will be carried out towards the end of June 2025.
The Trains using the HS2 Railway will not likely stop at night so the 24/7 testing is critical to simulate actual stress and strain on the Noise Barrier similar to the operational requirements and in reducing the duration of the test. This is fundamental to assuring Noise Barrier compliance. 

HS2 works update

Posted on by
a whole raft of stuff going on

1   HROC Bridge on Harvil Road – Update Following Inspections   
HS2/SCS recently closed Harvil Road for 6 Nights per week (excluding Friday Nights) between midnight to 5am from 17/02 to 17/03 to carry out 170 Inspections of the Butt Welds on the underneath of the new Bridge (HROC) that carries traffic across the Chiltern Railway Line on Harvil Road. 
HS2/SCS have advised LBH that only about 50% of the total number of Inspections were completed during the recent Road Closures for a number of reasons: 
•    Cancelled Shifts due to Bridge Manufacturer Resourcing Issues
•    Cancelled or delays to Shifts due to Network Rail withdrawing/changing Railway Possession at short notice
•    Issues with working around Birds Nests
•    Each Inspection taking longer than expected  
This means that HS2/SCS will be requesting further Night Time Road Closures of Harvil Road around the beginning of May to complete these Inspections (they expect they will need another 3 weeks worth). 
HS2/SCS have to rehire the specialist Crane used for the Inspections which is not available for another month or so plus there is the Breakspear Road South Road Closure from 05/04 to 27/04 for the Culvert Replacement so any further Bridge Inspections would have to be scheduled after that. The results of the Inspections completed thus far are all being sent to HS2 Design House for review and analysis and this work is still ongoing so there are no results to be shared with LBH at present. 
We will update you further once the dates have been confirmed for the further Night Time Road Closures.
2  Demobilisation works at West Ruislip Portal Site – March to July 2025 
With the 2nd Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Caroline due to complete the tunnelling journey to Greenpark Way Vent Shaft before the end of March 2025, works will continue to remove tunnelling support structures inside and outside the tunnels at West Ruislip Portal Site. There will be demobilisation and removal works carried out for the following: 
•    The conveyor structure
•    The launch chamber entrance
•    Rail siding
•    Gantry cranes and segment yard
•    Conveyor bridges 
3  Removal of the Conveyor Structure – January to July 2025
HS2 have started dismantling and removing the Conveyor Structure by crane from within the West Ruislip Portal entrance from 02/01/25 with these works expecting to take until July 2025 to complete.
From 02/01/25 to 02/02/25 this work will take place 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To avoid overnight disturbance, HS2/SCS will carry out metal cutting and concrete breaking works from 8am to 10pm Monday to Saturdays and 10am to 4pm on Sundays. They will place acoustic blankets fixed to Heras fencing around the concrete breaking area to reduce noise.
•    The 1st Phase of these works will be removing the Conveyor Structure from the Downline Tunnel (as Sushila has completed her tunnelling) and then out into the Tunnel Portal at West Ruislip
•    Once TBM Caroline has completed tunnelling in March 2025 then the process will be repeated for the Upline Tunnel
•    Then finally all of the remaining Conveyor Structure can be removed all the way from West Ruislip Portal along to the Treatment Area at Harvil Road Gate 1 Site.
4 Decommissioning and Removal of Rail Siding at West Ruislip Portal – March to May 2025 
•    The last Night Time delivery of TBM Segments by Railway to the West Ruislip Portal took place on 14/03 so now works can begin to decommission and remove the Rail Siding that accesses the HS2 Site from the main Chiltern Railway Line. 
•    HS2/SCS are expecting to receive Network Rail approval to commence these works shortly, with the removal of the track happening first and then followed by the removal of the ballast. 
•    It is expected that the Rail Siding will be completely removed by May 2025.
 
5  TBM Segment deliveries by Rail and Lorry into West Ruislip Portal
•     
•    As stated above, the last Night Time delivery of TBM Segments by Railway to the West Ruislip Portal took place on 14/03 and with TBM Caroline due to complete her tunnelling journey to the Greenpark Way Vent Shaft in LB Ealing around 28/03 there should now be enough Concrete Tunnel Segments in the Segment Yard at West Ruislip Portal to complete the remainder of the tunnelling works. 
  
•    There is consent from LBH for HS2/SCS to bring in TBM Segments by lorry as a contingency when needed but only during Core Working Hours (Mon to Fri 8am to 6pm and Sat 8am to 1pm).
 
•    Those eagle-eyed among you may have spotted a small number of these deliveries by lorry during this week as SCS make sure they have enough TBM Segments on site for TBM Caroline to complete tunnelling next week.
6 Diversion of U43 (adjacent to Breakspear Road South) – During Road Closure for Culvert Replacement – Sat 05/04/25 to Sun 27/04/25
 
•    HS2/SCS are planning on using the upcoming 3 week Road Closure of Breakspear Rd South (around the HS2 Site/Chiltern Bridge area) between 05/04 and 27/04 to also do some de-vegetation works along where the U43 is currently diverted adjacent to Breakspear Rd South.
•     
•    While the de-vegetation works take place HS2/SCS plan to divert users of the U43 into their Site to make room for these works This allows them space to carry out the works in the area 

7 Working Hours at Breakspear Rd South Site for Construction of Retained Embankments – June 2024 to April 2025
•     
•    From 17/06/24 to 30/04/25 HS2/SCS will be constructing the 3 Retained Embankments which connect West Ruislip Portal to the Copthall Tunnel. These works were originally to be completed in Dec 2024 but have been delayed due to the very wet weather experienced over recent months and are now expected to be completed by the end of April 2025. 
•    At present this activity is only being carried out during Core Working Hours (Mon to Fri 8am to 6pm & Sat 8am to 1pm).  
•    During the construction of the Embankments (that are either side of the River Pinn & Breakspear Rd South HS2 Bridges as shown on the Map below) there is expected to be 10,000 lorry loads of material brought into the Sites from Harvil Rd Gate 2 and across the Internal Haul Roads. Lorries that are unloading on the west side of Breakspear Rd South will exit onto Breakspear Rd South on the HS2 Approved Lorry Route, and lorries unloading on the east side of Breakspear Rd South will continue on the Internal Haul Road to exit at West Ruislip on that HS2 Approved Lorry Route.
•     
•    HS2/SCS will be building the Embankments to the required height using machinery for delivery and placement of material and the compaction of placed material will be carried out using vibratory rollers.  
•    LBH will be keeping close tabs on the lorry movements during these works. 

8  •    24 Hour Working moving TBM Material for placement within The Copthall Tunnel – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until May 2025 
•    HS2/SCS will be undertaking Day and Night work (24 Hour Working) at the Gate 2 Site on Harvil Road from March 2024 in order to build The Copthall Tunnel. These works will take place 7 Days a week and are currently included in the new Consent that will cover this activity up until the end of May 2025.

HS2 BRS update

Posted on by

FROM HS2

We’re writing to let you know about some planned works that we will be carrying out in your area.

HS2 Works Notification: Road closure on Breakspear Road South – 5 to 27 April 2025

From 5 to 27 April 2025, we will be carrying out works on Breakspear Road South, under a full 24-hour road closure north and south of the Network Rail bridge. 

During the road closure we will:

  • Remove and replace the culvert, including excavating a trench across the road to install the new drainage pipes
  • Cut sheet piles along the area of the HS2 Breakspear Road bridge
  • Install ditches by excavating and by clearing some vegetation and trees

The following traffic management will be in place:

  • A full road closure will in place to ensure that the work can be carried out safely.
  • A clearly signposted diversion route will be in place via Swakeleys Road B467/ High Road B466/ Ickenham Road/ High Street/ Bury Street A4180/ Breakspear Road.
  • Local access to residential properties will be maintained, however, there will be no through access for emergency services.

Two weeks of the closure will be within the Easter school holiday from 7 to 21 April 2025. We would like to apologise for any disruption or inconvenience these works may cause. For further details please follow this link.  https://www.hs2.org.uk/work-items/breakspear-road-south-closure-5-to-27-april/#msdynmkt_trackingcontext=97b3e4d8-ff93-4abe-87c5-b0476433a3d5

Recent notices from LBH

Posted on by

This one has been posted on this week’s planning list from LBH
https://planning.hillingdon.gov.uk/OcellaWeb/planningDetails?reference=62963/APP/2024/3371&from=planningSearch
comments to be in by 20th March 2025
(there is also the possibility of one at Hillingdon Circus)

And word of this one has already been doing the rounds:

We are proposing a change to our garden waste collection service to make it more sustainable.
The proposed change would see the introduction of a £70 charge for 2025/26 for the collection of a household’s garden waste. The charge would support the running costs of the service and ensure it’s paid for by those using it – rather than the cost being shared by all taxpayers, including those without gardens.
Our garden waste collection service would continue to offer residents:
• better value for money than neighbouring boroughs through a cheaper rate per collection
• weekly collections in spring, summer and autumn
• greater capacity of collected garden waste than other boroughs.
Residents without a subscription would still be able to take their garden waste to our civic amenity sites for free.
click on have your say to fill out the form
consultation link – closes 31st March
https://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/garden-waste-consultation

HS2 tunnel demobilisation

Posted on by

We’re writing to let you know about some planned works that we will be carrying out in your area.

Tunnelling from West Ruislip to Greenford will be completed by March 2025, and works are underway to remove tunnelling support structures inside and outside the tunnels. The demobilisation and removal works will be carried out for the following:


• The conveyor structure
• The launch chamber entrance
• Rail siding
• Gantry cranes and segment yard
• Conveyor bridges

Estimated Start Date

03/03/2025

Estimated End Date

31/07/2025 more details  https://assets.hs2.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/FINAL-AWN-West-Ruislip-Portal-site-demob-works-update-Feb-2025.pdf

Latest HS2 updates

Posted on by

New HS2 Community Event – Tue 25/02 between 4pm to 7.30pm at Ruislip Rugby Club

There will be a joint Drop-In Event held by both Main Contractors in Hillingdon, SCS and Align, to be held on Tuesday 25/02/25 at Ruislip Rugby Club:
Date: Tuesday 25/02/25
The Event will be open to the public between 4pm to 7.30pm
Venue: Ruislip Rugby Club, West End Road, Ruislip, HA4 6DR
This is a Drop-In style Event so residents can come at anytime that suits them. There is Car Parking at the venue.


New Harvil Road – Affinity Water Connection – Footway and Bellmouth Closure from Wed 26/02 until Sun 09/03  
There will be works to connect the Headhouse Fire Main Connection off Harvil Road to the Affinity Water Main which will mean a small section of the Footway and a Bellmouth access are closed between Wed 26/02 until Sun 09/03.
•    Traffic Management = Footway & Bellmouth Closure, Narrow Lane – carriageway width maintained at 6.9 metres
•    Works will be carried out during Core Working Hours but Traffic Management in place 24/7
•    No traffic impacts to users of Harvil Road with 2-way traffic flow maintained at all times