NEWS: The Times October 15, 2019
Developers want to shut out the public and trash our environment for profit
Headline in The Times - “Developers of Oxford-Cambridge arc learn from 2012 Olympics delivery authority”
The Times reports that “Chief executives from 25 companies, including Barratt Developments, Legal & General and Grosvenor, have proposed the creation of a body responsible for delivering housing and infrastructure within the area known as the “Oxford-Cambridge arc”.”
The article goes on to say “The proposed body would mirror the Olympic Delivery Authority, established in 2006 to help to ensure the success of the London 2012 Olympic Games. It encouraged collaboration between five councils and co-ordinated the construction of the Olympic Park. A similar body for the arc would aim to unite 31 local authorities with developers to co-ordinate decision-making and planning, making it easier and faster to deliver projects such as the Oxford-Cambridge rail link.
Patrick McMahon, of Bidwells, the property consultancy that co-wrote the proposal, said that for the arc a “long-term strategy that encourages public-private collaboration is crucial”.
Where is the discussion on what this means for the standard development process and the communities feeding into planning processes? What about protecting the environment and the “sense of place” that the Arc Leaders Group apparently care about so much? How can either be achieved if the developers go full steam ahead?
Bidwells is a property consultancy company which will make money out of the Arc and it is growing its Ox-Cam planning team.
We urgently need your help.
Your donations are needed now, to help us run the campaign and pay for political consultants and other professional experts to bring this campaign to the attention of Westminster as well as local politicians.
No Expressway Group believes there is no need for an Oxford-Cambridge Expressway, nor the over-inflated housing targets associated with it, and we will actively campaign against it and support other organisations with the same objectives.
Our environment is a national asset which is critical for everyone’s health and well-being. We must not let it be destroyed.
Your donations help us to spread information about the Expressway, run and build support for the campaign:
£10 could pay for one roadside Correx poster
£15 could pay for one roadside poster on a wooden stake
£20 could pay for one A1 printed colour poster for our pagoda display
£35 could pay for 250 A5 printed leaflets for the campaign
£70 could pay for one pole and two panels for our travelling pagoda display
£150 could pay for one feather flag for our travelling pagoda
£180 could pay to run this website for one year
£300 could pay for a 3 minutes of an Expressway Story
£500 could pay for a 5 minutes of an Expressway Story
A greater or other amount could contribute to the cost of professional support for our campaign in general and in preparation for Planning Inspectorate hearings
Please note:
The No Expressway Group has a group bank account to which the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer are signatories. The group will publish accounts on noexpressway.org each year which will be audited by an accountant from outside the NEG group.
If any funds are left at the end of the campaign, these will be donated equally between RSPB and BBOWT.