HS2: Embrace the pace, or restrain the train?

The construction of the government’s proposed £42bn high-speed rail link to Birmingham and beyond, HS2, threatens years of destruction and instability in our west Euston neighbourhood. How should our community respond? Does the project bring with it any meaningful benefits? What is the role of the arts and culture in responding to the HS2 plans?

Panelists include:

Matthew Evans (Artist- Gameshow and creator of The HS2 Project)
Sally Gimson (Camden Councillor -Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, HS2 Cabinet Sub Group)
Rupert Walker (HS2 Development Director)

From 9-31 January 2016, Camden People’s Theatre presents Whose London Is It Anyway?, a festival of theatre, performance and discussion exploring the changing face of our capital city. In the run-up to the May 2016 mayoral election, this unique event explores London’s housing crisis, the impact of “regeneration”, the privatising of public space, and the experience of living in Europe’s only megacity.

As artists ‘pop up’ in defunct shops, social housing tenants are moved hundreds of miles across the country, and garages sell for hundreds of thousands of pounds, CPT asks: What is a city for? Who does London belong to? What do we want to protect about our city, and what are we prepared to lose?