Oxford to Cambridge Expressway Project Cancelled

Construction of the Oxford to Cambridge expressway has been cancelled as analysis shows the benefits the road would deliver are outweighed by its costs.

 

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced on 18 March 2021 the cancellation of the Oxford-Cambridge (Ox-Cam) expressway, after analysis confirmed the proposed project was not cost-effective. Highways England had been developing potential options for a road link between Oxford and Milton Keynes. However, following close work with local partners since 2014, recent analysis shows that the benefits the road would deliver are outweighed by the costs associated with the project.

 

The Department for Transport (DfT) will now investigate the need for more targeted road interventions in the area, recognising the vital role that transport investment has to support sustainable growth in the region

 

The East West Rail scheme remains a firm commitment, with it seen as being key to not only improving connectivity but also bringing new jobs and opportunities to the area. In January, the government announced a £760 million funding commitment to deliver the next phase of East West Rail, which will create 1,500 skilled jobs and reinstate direct rail services between Bicester and Bletchley for the first time since 1968.

 

See link below to the Government’s full announcement from the Department for Transport and Highways England:

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/oxford-to-cambridge-expressway-project-cancelled-as-transport-secretary-looks-to-alternative-plans-for-improving-transport-in-the-region

 

For further information on this and to discuss any related planning matters please contact our Head of Planning Dan Hewett

Wilson Wraight welcomes Honor Eldridge to the team

We’re pleased to welcome Honor to the Wilson Wraight Planning team as our Environmental Specialist.

 

Honor has been working with clients to guide and shape agri-environmental policy over the past 10 years. Her relationships in Whitehall will help put Wilson Wraight at the forefront of potential future environmental policy developments. Given the rise of blended finance from public and private funding sources, she will also liaise with the private sector to identify and deliver commercial funding opportunities, including biodiversity net gain.

 

Her experience of working to influence environmental policy enables Wilson Wraight to provide clients with an in-house expert for projects requiring the negotiation of Biodiversity Net Gain Assessments with Local Authorities.