The cost of the notorious HS2 “bat tunnel” has soared to £125m, The i Paper can reveal.
Official estimates, obtained under a Freedom of Information request, suggest it will now cost around £25m more than previously thought.
The shed is being built to protect rare bats in ancient woodland from being hit by trains along the beleaguered high-speed rail route in Buckinghamshire.
An updated HS2 forecast, which has not been published before, estimated at the end of the 2022/23 financial year that the structure would cost £114.8m, the FOI data showed.
And adjusted for inflation, this suggests the current cost is around £125m, according to City economists and publicly available data from Hargreaves Lansdown.
This is well above the more than £100m suggested by HS2 chair Sir John Thompson in November and the initial cost estimate of £95m.
It is understood that HS2 maintains the cost increase is simply down to inflation.
The tunnel, in Sheephouse Wood which is part of a wider area of ancient woodland in Bernwood, Buckinghamshire that is home to 13 bat species, has become a symbol of the spiralling costs of the high speed rail line.
HS2 has argued that the structure was necessary to comply with laws on protecting internationally protected species, including the Bechstein’s bat, one of the world’s rarest.
The Bechstein’s bat is one of the world’s rarest species (Photo; Franz Christoph Robi/Getty)But Environment Secretary Steve Reed told The i Paper: “Spending vast sums to build a ‘bat tunnel’ is ludicrous.
“For too long, regulations have held up the building of homes and infrastructure, blocking economic growth and doing little for nature.”
He said Labour’s new planning reforms and a Nature Restoration Fund would unblock the building of homes and infrastructure, while protecting the environment, and “delivering a win-win for the economy and nature.”
Labour MP Luke Charters said he was concerned that the real cost of the concrete tunnel, designed to prevent bats being hit by trains, could end up being higher.
He said: “HS2’s costs were a train wreck under the Tories, exemplified by the chaotic cash splurged on a bat tunnel.”
Charters accused Tory ministers of not being “bothered to attend cost control meetings” related to the high-speed rail line.
The MP for York Outer, continued: “I fully support the Government’s new efforts to reset HS2 and restore financial discipline.
“The tunnel has already more than doubled the cost of this section of railway, and I’m concerned the final bill could climb even higher once inflation and long-term maintenance are factored in.”
Charters said the Government’s new slashing of red tape in its Planning and Infrastructure Bill would tackle “wasteful spending on projects like this” and ensure “resources are focused where they’re needed most, especially when thousands of children are still waiting for a home”.
The 13 species of bat, which are protected under UK and international law, include the Bechstein’s bat, which lives in woodland and roosts in old woodpecker holes or tree crevices, according to the Wildlife Trusts.
The UK is also home to the most northerly population of Bechstein’s bats.
The 1km concrete tunnel, which includes two specially designed “crossing points”, was designed to protect these species and allow HS2 to get necessary approval from Natural England under environmental laws.
However, The i Paper in November revealed that the shed was being built to protect just 300 bats that do not roost in the nearest woodland.
Other options including barriers alongside the railway and looser netting over it were considered by HS2 but it believed that these would not meet environmental standards, while alternatives such as a deep tunnel or moving the rail line were seen as too expensive.
Laws protect vulnerable bat species
A spokesman for HS2 Ltd said: “The demands of the UK planning and environmental consents process come at a high cost, largely out of HS2 Ltd’s control.
“To comply with laws protecting vulnerable species, including internationally protected bats near Sheephouse Wood, a covered structure over the HS2 line is being built.
“A range of alternative options were reviewed and rejected on the grounds that they were more expensive or failed to pass the legal test.”
Responding to The i Paper’s FOI request for the bat tunnel’s latest cost estimates, HS2 Ltd said: “In 2022, a cost estimate was developed based on emerging detailed design for a bat mitigation structure over HS2 and East West Rail lines.
“The additional cost to provide a bat mitigation structure (i.e. specific below ground strengthening, approach ramps, and the above ground structure itself) was estimated at a cost of £114.8m (Q4 2022 prices).
“A full re-estimate of the works has not since been undertaken.”
The Government last week announced that phase one of the rail line will be delayed again, with costs expected to increase further.
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