Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is facing questions over its decision to scrap a 4,500-space multi-storey car park at the HS2 Interchange Station.

A fiery debate between two party leaders erupted last night over whether a surface car park was the best use of land.

Original HS2 plans involved a 7,500-space surface car park, which was then reduced to 4,500 spaces in a multi-storey structure to free up a large area of land for development. This has now become an initial 2,750 surface spaces for Phase 1 of HS2 plus another 1,750 if the northern HS2 line comes into service.

At a cabinet meeting last week, officers said one acre would fit roughly 125 car parking spaces, so the amount of land needed for the initial 2,750 spaces would be 22 acres, according to HS2 estimates. Leader of the Green Party Cllr Max McLoughlin questioned the plan to tarmac 'vast swathes of land'.

He compounded the issue further last night, asking the leader of the council Cllr Ian Courts: "It was quoted that this will use more land than the multi-storey car park, so do you think the surface car parking is a good use of land at the Arden Cross site?"

Cllr Courts replied: "I am not going to build a 4,500-space multi-storey car park to save land when I may only need one for 2,750. The pragmatic solution is to keep our options open until as late as possible."

This is all semantics. Clearly, a 7,500-square-foot car park is less desirable than a small amount of surface land. It's a waste of concrete, space, energy, carbon and everything else."

"Deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, Cllr Kathryn Thomas, also asked the leader: "I know the intention was to build a multi-storey car park so it took up less space and we could develop the space for other purposes. If we do end up with the car parking flat at ground level, what development are we losing at Arden Cross?"

Cllr Courts did not go into specifics but said: "The way inflation has taken off because of the Ukraine war has created extreme rising costs, particularly with building materials. It makes it very risky and frankly, if we can avoid a major structure like that, it's an advantage.

"To have a reduction to 2,750 spaces immediately is a major success, and maybe if we are required to build the rest, we do."

The initial 2,750 spaces agreed upon at cabinet last week will sit on the east side of the tracks, while the west side is earmarked for the extra spaces if they are needed. Cllr Courts said it was hoped the extra spaces would be minimised or avoided altogether.