County Councillors Kirsten Johnson and Lorraine Lindsey Gale are being very supportive to the EAG. Lorraine said: “The option to take the Expressway to the West and North of Oxford using the existing A34 has far more to recommend it than destroying the Green Belt and blighting the lives of thousands of South Oxfordshire residents. I urge Highways England to reconsider their decision not to engage with local residents until one corridor has been selected. This determination to keep plans and discussions secret has given rise to widespread anxiety among residents that may in the final event prove to have been unnecessary. I support the Expressway Action Group – WEST IS BEST!”
Councillor Lorraine Lindsay-Gale, Cabinet Member for Property, Cultural & Community Services, Oxfordshire County Council, Member for the Berinsfield & Garsington Division which includes Dorchester on Thames.

The following update was issued from the EAG yesterday – Friday 10th November
Oxfordshire Expressway Action Group Update – Fighting for Oxfordshire’s countryside – once it’s gone, it’s gone.

The Oxfordshire EAG consists of over 23 villages from across Oxfordshire representing over 25,000 people and more are joining every day. The Group is trying to find out more about the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway and the proposed routes to encourage proper public consultation before any decision is made. We are calling for a full public inquiry into this proposed new motorway route and development corridor for 100,000 houses because we believe that ten miles of Oxfordshire’s green belt, unspoilt countryside and irreplaceable wildlife havens are at risk of being concreted over without any proper public consultation or a democratic mandate

Peter Rutt, Co-ordinator of the EAG) commented, “Because these proposals have been kept so quiet or discussed behind closed doors, most people in Oxforshire have had no idea the proposed Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor and its Expressway motorway even existed, or that there was any opportunity to comment on these proposals. Oxfordshire deserves to be consulted on a project which would massively affect its residents’ quality of living. Without a full public inquiry to examine the environmental, housing and amenity impact of each Expressway route, we could end up with the worst of all outcomes. The thousands of Oxfordshire residents impacted by these huge changes deserve to have their voices heard.”

The Expressway Action Group -key points we are raising with potential influencers on the route decision – please help us by liking our page, writing to your MP, Councillors, local media and sharing our posts and press release.

The Routes: The EAG realised in August 2017 that there are basically two options for this new Motorway. Either, the A34 is sorted and enhanced with the £3 billion of government money being made available for this project OR a completely new motorway is built destroying 10 miles of the Green belt, countryside and wildlife havens of South Oxfordshire and the Thame Valley
The arguments for the Northern Route are compelling.
– The A34 has to be improved no matter what happens. However, only the Northern route will sort out the A34 problems properly with the full force of central government cash behind it.
– Only the Northern route connects the growth towns of Bicester and Buckingham and Banbury to the Expressway
– Only the Northern route links the new Expressway with the new East-West Rail link – It would be far less invasive than a brand new road and would cost £400 million less. (But money is not the only issue as another objective is for 100,000 more houses…)
A southern route …
– A southern route would separate the Expressway from the Rail Link and the new stations at Oxford Parkway and Bicester.
– The environmental, amenity and wildlife impacts of a Southern route would be catastrophic. It would destroy 10 miles of Green belt, causing massive damage to rural lands and
wildlife and will change the character of the area forever.
– It represents a huge danger to the Thame and Thames Flood Plains and associated rare wildlife and their havens
– The proposed Southern routes don’t achieve the aims of the Growth Corridor and ‘Knowledge Spine’ at all as they run along its southern edge. This route would produce more commuter-belt
housing and even more traffic into London and the Southern commuter towns.

Lorna Campbell/Arthur | e: lornacampbell1@gmail.com | t: +44 7836 625999 | twitter:lornacampbell | skype: lornac999

The Expressway Action Group are launching their Facebook Page later today – at

fb.me/expresswayactiongroup or https://www.facebook.com/expresswayactiongroup/

OUR LOBBYING CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE Please continue to write to the MP’s and other Government officials on the Expressway lobbying list.

Dear Mr Hill
Thank you for your email concerning the proposed Oxford to Cambridge Expressway. I appreciate the concerns that the proposals are raising and indeed share some of them. However there is also much speculation at present.

I have had discussion with the Secretary of State for Transport to ensure that he is aware of the local issues and have also put these concerns in writing to him. I have also discussed the matter with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government due to the potential issues of housing to be built along the route.

I am of the firm opinion that the route should utilise existing roads wherever possible rather than carve a new path through Green Belt land to the south of Oxford. Given that there are alternatives I believe that it is inappropriate and unnecessary to use Green Belt land for this. Further with the requirement for housing to help fund the new road there is even greater reason to avoid a route through the Green Belt.

I have also raised concerns about the transparency of the work on this project. A project of this magnitude should have ready access to as much information as possible in the public domain. I accept that some competitive data needs to remain private but feel that the lack of information is adding to speculation. I have asked the Secretary of State to intervene so that as much information as possible can be immediately put into the public domain with explanation as to what is being held back and why. I have also asked him to ensure that there is full public consultation before a route is decided and not just on the preferred option.

With thanks again for raising your concerns on this project with me.
John