East West Rail

(asked on 19th May 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps have been taken to consult residents affected by the planned East West Rail Line between Cambridge and Oxford.


Answered by
Chris Heaton-Harris Portrait
Chris Heaton-Harris
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
This question was answered on 26th May 2021

East West Rail Company conducted a non-statutory consultation between January and March 2019. Over 3,500 people attended the supporting events, and 7,000 responded to the consultation. A range of promotional activities were used, including sending postcards to more than 120,000 households and businesses in the consultation zone, placing advertisements in local publications and issuing press releases to local and national publications.

East West Rail Company is currently undertaking a non-statutory public consultation on proposals for the alignment of the new section of the East West Rail route that would run from Bedford to Cambridge. The consultation also covers other improvements to the line from Oxford to Bedford.

To support this consultation, East West Rail Company has sent 270,000 summary documents to homes and businesses close to the proposed railway between Oxford and Cambridge as well as document packs to all MPs, Parish Councils and Ward and County Councillors within the consultation zone. It has also launched a set of consultation rooms, held a number of live chat events and public webinars open to the public, or hosted a number of meetings with local representatives. East West Rail Company has actively engaged with media and advertised the consultation in local community media – including radio and print – as well as social media.

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