East West Rail continues to raise political temperatures

Weather temperatures have been high this week across the country and a new high was recorded in Cambridge. Political high temperature is being aimed for by some using the proposed East West Rail project as a lighter, confusing residents unnecessarily.

History of East West Rail

The first time I became aware of a railway line idea between Oxford and Cambridge was back in 2013 and you can read it here. Little did I know that it was going to become a big issue years later! In the meantime, Railfutures was doing its best to keep this hope of reconnecting these two University towns alive.

Government Vision and Action

The Conservative Government of David Cameron set up the interim National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) in 2015, to carry out infrastructure studies and advice Government on what is needed and where so the UK can meet its long term infrastructure needs. The Chancellor George Osborne wrote a letter to the NIC Chair Lord Adonis in 2016, instructing him to investigate and make recommendations on maximising the potential of the Cambridge – Milton Keynes – Oxford Corridor. The detailed terms of reference attached to the letter makes for interesting reading. It mentioned the work of the East West Rail Consortium (now Partnership) and Department of Transport (DfT) strategic study into the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway. The comprehensive list of the Local Government Authorities of all political parties and other bodies that are members can be found here.

One expects that delivery of such an important strategic infrastructure will be by National Rail. Yet in the guise of National Rail being too busy, the DfT announced as on p27 of this report there would be no electrification of the EWR line, but that clearances would be kept for new structures to enable this in future! In addition, Chris Grayling as Transport Secretary announced that the project would be delivered by a Private Company and so the East West Rail Company came into existence.

National Infrastructure Commission

The NIC in its 2017 report identified this strategic railway link as infrastructure needed to make the OxCam arc successful. Lord Adonis launched the report Partnering for prosperity: a new deal for the Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford Arc in November 2017.

Combined Peterborough and Cambridgeshire Authority Mayor

The Conservative Mayor of the Combined Peterborough and Cambridgeshire Authority James Palmer welcomed the report and committed to pushing forward the delivery the railway line:

South Cambridgeshire District Council

Closer to home, South Cambs District Council changed administration from the Conservatives to the Liberal Democrats in May 2018. The Local Plan submitted by the Conservatives administration in March 2014 was still being examined for soundness by the Planning Inspector. The Planning Inspector gave the final go ahead in August 2018 that the plan is sound leading to it being adopted by the Full Council at its meeting in September 2018.

At that same meeting, full council discussed a motion supporting the commitment by the Government to invest in the Oxford Cambridge corridor and the construction of the East West Rail line. The final version supported and adopted by Full Council is:

The Full Council at the time comprised of members from Liberal Democrats (30), Conservatives (11), Independent (2) and Labour (2). The motion received cross party support as shown, including from Conservative councillors who had been members of the Cabinet up to May 2018 (Topping, Howell, Ellington, Wright) and the current Conservative Group Leader (Williams) and Deputy Leader (Cone):

Clearly the Conservatives and Independent opposition group members agree with the new Liberal Democrat administration that they support the principle of the East West Rail line.

The response that South Cambs District Council sent to East West Rail company consultation in 2021 was robust and wide-ranging, strongly expressed concerns about the proposals and the harm to the District.

The report covered the major issues of substance such as landscape, heritage, ecology, air quality, noise, severance, electrification, as well as making criticisms of the lack of factual information provided by EWR. A sample statement in that report is shown adjacent.

You can read more about that response in my blog article here with references to the main report itself.

Parliamentary Representatives

The South Cambridgeshire MP from 2015 to 2019 was Heidi Allen. She noted her support for the Government’s investment in the OxCam arc and East West Rail in her December 2016 Newsletter that is still on the South Cambs Conservative website.

Heidi also mentioned her determination to ensure the project is brought about as quickly as possible. This is a snapshot from her Newsletter 27 of March 2018

Anthony Browne became the South Cambridgeshire Conservative Parliamentary Candidate in 2019. He made it clear then he supports the East West Rail line and still does. He is clear on his website that he campaigned for the proposed station to be located north of Cambourne, not south as originally proposed. This Cambridge Independent article he refers to on his website shows his unambiguous support in the letter he wrote to Grant Shapps:

A further confirmation of his support for East West Rail line and his role in getting the station located to the north of Cambourne is contained in this Cambridge News article he wrote in February 2021. He confirms he pushed for the north Cambourne location for the station and wrote to the Ministers to ask for it.

In all of this, the elephant in the room that he has time and again ignored is the requirement that Government has to require housing development to pay for train stations like this.

So next time you talk to Mr Browne about East West Rail, why not ask him how the station he is so keen to have at this location will be paid for? And what is he doing to ensure it done properly?

Current Status of East West Rail

The relevant question is – what is the current status of the EWR project? The answer is – “it is up in the air” a situation arising after Michael Gove became the Minister in charge of the Levelling Up agenda.

It is worth noting that the Government has created an unaccountable arms-length East West Rail Company to deliver the rail line project. Funding has been slow and uncertain and the information provided by the government and EWR Co. has been astonishingly inadequate. There is little or no information about the business case, such as how many houses are needed to justify it. Furthermore, the reasons for specific design and route choices have not been explained.

This Financial Times article gives a very good summary of the OxCam arc project and the East West Rail line in relation to the original vision to maximise the economic growth and opportunities across the Oxford Cambridge arc.

The FT article mentions the concerns expressed by both SCDC Leader Cllr Bridget Smith, and the Mayor of Bedford Dave Hodgson. This centres around the lack of clarity that successive Secretaries of State have about the project and what it needs to achieve. According to the article, a 40-person Whitehall unit in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to deliver the Arc was disbanded within weeks of Gove taking up his new role in September 2021. By stepping back in this way, it transpires Government wants the OxCam project to be locally led, something local leaders are not prepared to do.

The Chair of the East West Main Line Partnership that runs the project, warned that the Treasury’s spending review had failed to resolve critical questions about the future of the “long-delayed” Oxford to Cambridge railway link. It was this concern that led local government organisations along the route, as well as businesses and the universities, to reach the collective view that it is important to maintain a stance of supporting the principle of a rail route between Oxford and Cambridge and beyond in order to maintain dialogue with decision-makers and ensure a focus on local benefits.

So four Council leaders (City, County, SCDC and Hunts), Chairs of Greater Cambridge Partnership and University Health Partners, University Vice Chancellor and Cambridge City MP signed a joint letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in June 2022. The letter hoped to force a clear policy statement and commitment of funding from the Government for the railway project. It concluded by asking for a meeting to discuss the importance of developing a full business case for the Bedford to Cambridge section of the railway line. This letter must be read together with the very robust response that South Cambs gave to last year’s EWR consultation, setting out the many problems with the scheme as it was presented to us.

Campaign groups and Conservative opposition in the District however decided to misrepresent the signed letter to the Chancellor for political reasons. This resulted in schemed personal attacks circulated on social media (Facebook and Nextdoor) against the SCDC Leader. At SCDC Full Council meeting yesterday, the Leader made this statement in response to a question from the Conservative opposition. It is quite clear on our responsibility to our residents stating:

This happened at the same period that Grant Shapps, the current transport secretary, said in his attempt at the Conservative Leadership race that he would no longer support EWR line. Announcing on a radio show the scrapping of a significant infrastructure project shows how badly this Government operates. Daniel Zeichner the Cambridge City MP in this Cambridge Independent article called it a “new low” even for this Government. This is a pitiful way of delivering a major piece of public transport infrastructure.

The uncertainty around East West Rail continues, and is unlikely to be resolved before a new Prime Minister and Government is in place. We might not get any clarity even then but remain hopeful. What happens next will clearly depend on both the overall approach to investment and growth of the new Prime Minister and the priorities of the Ministers of Transport and Local Government

This situation leaves us as local representatives and, more importantly, the public very distrustful of the motivations of the Government and EWR Company. This is a shame really, as we desperately need investment in good, sustainable public transport to significantly improve living and working conditions in this part of the district.

Conclusion

So when the South Cambs Conservatives say they don’t support EWR line, you know they are seriously gaslighting! They are intent on misleading the residents of South Cambridgeshire just for their own political purposes. Yet, I recall the current MP saying they don’t or shouldn’t! Go figure.