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Letters have been sent to the Chairs and Clerks of all the Parishes affected by EWR Co's Options.
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CamBedRailRoad (CBRR) has greeted the Consultation Document announcing the five potential EWR Central Section ‘Route Options’ with disappointment. The grassroots organisation has been lobbying for the consideration of a Northern Option, entering Cambridge from the North. The Chairman of CBRR Sebastian Kindersley said:
“We are disappointed that East West Rail Co Ltd (‘EWR Co’) has not included our Option for consideration despite widespread support from local MPs, Councils and residents. We are further disappointed because only two of the potential Options (‘B’ and ‘E’) come anywhere close to meeting the recommendations of the National Infrastructure Commission (‘NIC’), which said that road and rail should be delivered together in a sensible and coherent manner. But, doubly disappointingly, they enter Cambridge from the South by some tortuous route from Cambourne despite CBRR’s demonstration that a Northern approach was easy and quick to deliver.
“EWR Co appears to have selected low Cost and obviously low Benefit Options which deliver very little indeed to local people and which now present a considerable planning blight (up to 15 km wide) on communities across Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. Meanwhile, EWR Co ignores the needs of 70,000 people immediately to the north and west of Cambridge – with more development planned. This is a ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity to get a major piece of national infrastructure right and must not be squandered.
“We will be contributing to this non-statutory consultation and making our argument forcefully. We will focus on taking up EWR Co’s significant open invitation to be persuaded that there are operational, technical, planning, programming, environmental and financial advantages to be gained by entry from the North – even EWR Co agrees ‘it is not too late to see sense’.
“The CBRR Option delivers new train stations at Bedford, St Neots, Cambourne and Northstowe; sustainably links established and approved centres of population growth; supports NIC’s call for significant further housing development; and enables high speed trains, low speed commuter trains as well as freight to travel east/west. It is an obvious Option to assess and to consult upon.”
“We will continue to work constructively with EWR Co and local communities, so we can all arrive at the optimal solution.”
“We are disappointed that East West Rail Co Ltd (‘EWR Co’) has not included our Option for consideration despite widespread support from local MPs, Councils and residents. We are further disappointed because only two of the potential Options (‘B’ and ‘E’) come anywhere close to meeting the recommendations of the National Infrastructure Commission (‘NIC’), which said that road and rail should be delivered together in a sensible and coherent manner. But, doubly disappointingly, they enter Cambridge from the South by some tortuous route from Cambourne despite CBRR’s demonstration that a Northern approach was easy and quick to deliver.
“EWR Co appears to have selected low Cost and obviously low Benefit Options which deliver very little indeed to local people and which now present a considerable planning blight (up to 15 km wide) on communities across Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. Meanwhile, EWR Co ignores the needs of 70,000 people immediately to the north and west of Cambridge – with more development planned. This is a ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity to get a major piece of national infrastructure right and must not be squandered.
“We will be contributing to this non-statutory consultation and making our argument forcefully. We will focus on taking up EWR Co’s significant open invitation to be persuaded that there are operational, technical, planning, programming, environmental and financial advantages to be gained by entry from the North – even EWR Co agrees ‘it is not too late to see sense’.
“The CBRR Option delivers new train stations at Bedford, St Neots, Cambourne and Northstowe; sustainably links established and approved centres of population growth; supports NIC’s call for significant further housing development; and enables high speed trains, low speed commuter trains as well as freight to travel east/west. It is an obvious Option to assess and to consult upon.”
“We will continue to work constructively with EWR Co and local communities, so we can all arrive at the optimal solution.”
CBRR were invited to attend the Westminster Forum on 13 Dec 2018, to hear the EWR Chairman include a route to the north as being currently considered, as reported in the Royston Crow on 17 January 2019 (page 3). CBRR Technical Director Brian Bell attended and wrote an Article for the Conference Proceedings, "Transport in South Cambridgeshire: is not Integration the only Solution?"
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CBRR are interested in the 'corridor' in EWR's announcement for the end of January (see our overlay) and look forward to the announcement of more specific route options.
Some Councillors and Parish Councils have received the above communication on behalf of the East West Rail Company. We reproduce it here as already a number of those recipients have been in touch with members of CBRR to ask for further clarification. Other than what is in the letter, all we know at this current point is that the announcement will be made at the end of January of variations to both a northerly route and a southerly route, within the corridor envelope above; and we further understand that public exhibitions will be held by EWRCo at up to seven different locations including Bassingbourn, Cambourne, Sandy and Potton.
The corridor on EWR's map includes most of CBRR's proposed route following the A428 and its developments, with entry into Cambridge from the north, as shown by our overlay. We are hopeful that common sense has prevailed, and will continue to prevail.
Some Councillors and Parish Councils have received the above communication on behalf of the East West Rail Company. We reproduce it here as already a number of those recipients have been in touch with members of CBRR to ask for further clarification. Other than what is in the letter, all we know at this current point is that the announcement will be made at the end of January of variations to both a northerly route and a southerly route, within the corridor envelope above; and we further understand that public exhibitions will be held by EWRCo at up to seven different locations including Bassingbourn, Cambourne, Sandy and Potton.
The corridor on EWR's map includes most of CBRR's proposed route following the A428 and its developments, with entry into Cambridge from the north, as shown by our overlay. We are hopeful that common sense has prevailed, and will continue to prevail.