PRESS RELEASE: Campaigners demand to be heard in Government Expressway Review, Nov 22, 2019
CAMPAIGNERS DEMAND TO BE HEARD IN GOVERNMENT EXPRESSWAY ‘REVIEW’
The leading campaign group opposing the construction of the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway and associated one million new homes – the ‘No Expressway Group’ (NEG) - has today written an open letter to the Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps demanding that the Group be included in the recently announced ‘priority review’ into the road and that it should be extended to the associated one million homes. The letter also reaffirms the Groups belief that the scheme should not just be ‘reviewed’ but cancelled.
NEG spokesperson Olivia Field said, ‘Whilst we welcome this ‘review’ it is imperative that it is indeed a properly conducted undertaking including evidence from our Group. Local people are understandably concerned that this review may be something of a sop to local people to diffuse opposition to this outrageously destructive road until after the General Election. There is widespread and very strong opposition to the road, so much so is that it has become a major issue in the General Election and rightly so. It threatens the health and quality of life of c3.3 million people[1] across a swathe of the country making up the Oxford to Cambridge Arc.’
The Oxford to Cambridge Expressway scheme is based on the idea of opening-up the countryside for development of an aspirational target of one million new homes by 2050. The National Infrastructure Commission 5th Studio Report shows a split by both region and type of housing across the Arc. The target includes ‘unlocked’ homes enabled by the Expressway, London commuter homes and those in Local Authority plans. We agree more housing is needed, but not >100% growth in Oxon & 65% growth in affected areas of Bucks by 2050 (compared with the 16% predicted for the nation as a whole, by the Office of National Statistics). All those homes need infrastructure: schools, clinics, hospitals, water and electricity supplies, waste and sewage disposal etc. e.g., one form entry primary school is required for every 800 new houses. That’s 1,250 such schools across the Arc for those one million new houses by 2050. Developers. make only minimal contributions to the real cost of infrastructure, which is ultimately borne by the Government, or by tax- and rate-payers.
England has destroyed 97% of its wildflower meadows since the 1930s and more ancient woodlands in the forty years after WWII than in the previous 400 years. How much more destruction can our environment take without catastrophic declines in our life support systems?
Ms Field added, ‘We are urging local people not to see the announcement as ‘game over’. It’s not. It’s vital that as many local people as possible make their voice heard by supporting us at www.noexpressway.org where they can sign our petition to demand the Government abandons plans for the Ox-Can Expressway and associated over inflated housing targets.’
Ends
For further information please contact the press office on
Melissa Wright
07811 167190
NOTES TO THE EDITOR
NEG letter sent to Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps on 22nd November 2019.
Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
Dear Grant Shapps
Press Release of 20th November 2019, Conservatives announce a priority review of Expressway and look to boost rail, local road and cycling schemes instead.
The No Expressway Group with members across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire and supporters across the whole Arc, are encouraged that the Conservative Party is proposing to review the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway proposals. Not only is the initial business case very weak and subject, as you have identified, to increasing costs due to environmental factors, but the premise of the project does not fit with the Government’s own target for net zero carbon by 2050 or the Conservative Party’s belief in “protecting the countryside”.
The Oxford to Cambridge Expressway and associated target of one million homes across the Arc should not just be reviewed but should be cancelled and the Government should shift investment from private, car-dependent transport to public transport systems such as fully electrified East-West Rail instead. Existing road and housing proposals with staggering growth rate targets would have devastating consequences for the environment, our health, our infrastructure and resources.
If the Conservative Party is successful in forming a Government after 12th December, the No Expressway Group formally requests to be part of the “priority review” into the Expressway. It is key that this review is extended to include the associated target of one million homes along the Arc.
Your sincerely
Olivia Field
Chair, No Expressway Group
noexpresswaygroup@gmail.com @no_expressway Facebook noexpresswaygroup
The No Expressway Group (NEG) was established to raise awareness of the Oxford-Cambridge Expressway across the Arc. We are not affiliated with any political party and are run on a not-for-profit basis. We receive donations from our individual supporters but no funds from any group with commercial or other interests in the Arc proposals. In the last 12 months NEG has given talks and made presentations to villages across the Arc, from Sunningwell, West of Oxford, to Wavendon, Southeast of Milton Keynes. We have not found a single community in favour of the Arc proposals.
About:
The NO EXPRESSWAY GROUP believes that 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 the many other organisations with the same objectives.
Our environment is a national asset which should be protected for all us, our health and well-being. This is a national and not just a local issue and we will continue strive to educate people about the threats to our countryside posed by the planned Expressway and its associated housing and development. We will fight to protect our countryside and its wildlife for the health and enjoyment of all future generations.
[1] As identified by Highways England in Minutes of a meeting between Highways England and Stakeholders in March 2018
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.