UPDATE: November 11, 2019
Welcome. In this update we are delighted to announce the new No Expressway Group Petition to demand that government STOP the Ox-Cam Expressway. Please sign up to add your voice to those who want to be heard. We also report on delays to Highways England first public consultation on the expressway and Oxon County Council voting to oppose the expressway.. although far from unanimously!
Actions
PLEASE sign our new petition! – Sign now!
Every signature adds to the strength to our campaign. This is a crucial tool in persuading politicians to see sense.
Frustrated or angry about the expressway? Sign-up here for up to the minute news and updates and to help us get information to you quickly around consultation time.
We urgently need to raise funds to run our campaign and to pay for consultants and experts. We must not wait. The time is now. Please donate here
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What’s new (for full details click here)
NEG Petition to STOP the Expressway!
We’re delighted to announce the launch of our new 'STOP the Ox-Cam Expressway' petition on our website.
Some of you may have signed other petitions before, including some on Parliament's petition website. These have been closed early and so will not be debated because of the election.
This new petition aims to bring together in one place all opponents of the expressway and of the associated over inflated housing targets and destruction of our environment.
As it is NEG's petition it is not subject to the vagaries and restrictions of those on the Parliamentary site.
If we are to be successful it’s vital that this new petition gets off to a flying start and gets so many sign ups that the Government daren’t ignore it.
Please sign our petition and ask your friends and family to as well! Sign now!
Every sign up makes our campaign stronger.
Highways England (HE) delays first public consultation further
Highways England have confirmed that they have had to delay the route option public consultation until after the election
When the consultation will actually happen will depend on the new government and their priorities!
Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) votes to oppose the Ox-Cam Expressway
Having just passed a motion to make Oxfordshire carbon neutral by 2030, the OCC voted to oppose the expressway, however, this was not unanimous! The votes were 35 in favour, 11 against with 8 abstentions. Disappointing that not everyone is yet on-board with the case for NO expressway!
Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Leader of OCC, said “I cannot support this motion because I think we have got to wait until we see exactly what the details are.” Missing the point that it would cause destruction wherever it goes!
Cllr Yvonne Constance said the claims that the road would encourage the creation of dormitory towns for London commuters were unfounded. Again, missing the point! With a housing target of 1 million new homes along the arc (confirmed again on 29th July by MP Robert Jenrick), where does she think they’re going to go? Our understanding is that 25% of housing will be taken by London commuters.
Luckily Cllrs Hudspeth and Constance views did not win out.
Unfortunately, the amendment to the expressway motion tabled by Cllr Tim Bearder to include opposition to housing stock growth rates to 2050 of 3-6 times that of ONS forecasts was voted down, but 45 to 11 votes. It seems councillors are scared not to stand up for sustainable and realistic housing growth levels.
NEG activities
We continue the awareness-raising campaign, with presentations at Wavendon, Ludgershall and in Botley.
The marvellous Cat Wood has been working hard on bringing new content and order to our website. There’s lots more information with new sections “The case for NO Expressway” and “The Facts”. With more content and images to follow. Keep checking in for the latest news and content!
What’s next
Launch of the next big campaign initiative … watch this space!
Meeting with Highways England to discuss the consultation process on 27th November
Continue working with the Stronger Together group and working on a programme of activities for schools
Continue work to improve content on our website and drive traffic to our Facebook page.
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.