Expressway preferred route announced

THAME seems to have escaped major impact from the proposed Oxford to Cambridge Expressway, after the Government today announced its preferred route out of the three alternatives it has looked at.

The Government’s chosen route, Corridor B, will follow the East-West Rail Corridor, (See more in depth explanation of the alternatives in our previous report HERE)  not the favoured route of South Oxfordshire District Council.

The Government said that Corridor B was: “… judged to offer greater benefits to the region – outperforming the other options by providing better links to jobs, education, leisure and health services.”

The expressway, with options to pass either west or east of Oxford, is expected to take up to 40 minutes off the journey between the A34 south of Oxford and the M1.

Despite the Government’s statement today saying that ‘The choice of this corridor means that the government has ruled out construction in the area of the Otmoor nature reserve, underlining its desire to protect the natural environment’, Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) is ‘profoundly concerned’ following today’s announcement.

Estelle Bailey, Chief Executive BBOWT, said: “In our opinion Corridor B is the worst of the three options. We told Highways England that the potential impact on biodiversity of Corridor B is so serious that the route should have been discounted entirely. The only way to avoid exceptionally serious impacts on biodiversity would be to develop a road route that is so convoluted that it would fail to qualify as an expressway.

“Our most serious concerns are for the designated sites and nature reserves in Cothill Fen, Oxford Meadows, the Otmoor Basin, Upper Ray Valley and Bernwood Forest.”

BBOWT has publicly voiced its concerns about Highways England’s failure to commission a Strategic Environmental Assessment as part of the process of selecting a Corridor. This is required under European Law for plans or programmes of this size. “This means the public has been denied the opportunity to fully scrutinise the comparative economic, societal and environmental impacts of the options. Several local MPs, councillors and pressure groups share our concern about the lack of consultation,” claims BBOWT.

You can read the full statement from the Department for Transport, Highways England HERE and HERE

Thame’s MP John Howell, has been communicating with wildlife groups about the possible affect on sensitive sites and you can read his response HERE