PRESS RELEASE: Campaigners disappointed Grant Shapps won't make time for key election issue
For immediate release
CAMPAIGNERS DISAPPOINTED GRANT SHAPPS WON’T MAKE TIME FOR KEY ELECTION ISSUE
The No Expressway Group (NEG) is very disappointed that Grant Shapps won’t make time before the election to discuss the Oxford – Cambridge expressway and the over-inflated target of one million new houses across the Ox-Cam Arc by 2050, which is one of the biggest issues across the 20 constituencies of the Arc. NEG has been told to get back in touch after the election to arrange a meeting.
That is too late.
NEG spokesperson Olivia Field said, ‘This really isn’t good enough. The voters want to know more about the Conservative party’s pledge for a review. Several Conservative candidates say it’s already cancelled but that’s not what Grant Shapps has said. Voters want to know whether, as Grant Shapps put it, the government now being “tilted against the plan” means a Conservative majority Government would actually cancel the scheme, or simply conduct a review such as that carried out for HS2 (the controversial outcome of which was a recommendation that HS2 should continue). Voters want to know if a review would be extended to include the over-inflated target of one million houses or not. They also want to know if they will be represented in any review by NEG, the largest group campaigning on this issue across the entire Oxford-Cambridge Arc.’
Ms Field also said, ‘this is a key issue to a great many voters in the general election and it is disappointing that Grant Shapps does not recognise the urgency of this matter and the importance of this scheme in the minds of the voters. 45 out of 98 parliamentary candidates across the Oxford-Cambridge Arc understand this and have already pledged support to NEG’s campaign.’
NEG is continuing to urge people not to see the Government’s announcement as ‘game over’. It’s not. It’s vital that as many local people as possible make their voices heard by supporting NEG at www.noexpressway.org where they can sign a petition to demand the Government abandons plans for the Ox-Can Expressway and associated over inflated housing targets.
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For further information please contact the press office on
Melissa Wright
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NOTES TO THE EDITOR
The No Expressway Group is the leading campaign group opposing the construction of the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway and associated one million new houses, with members across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire and supporters along the whole Oxford to Cambridge Ard.
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?
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.