Our campaign statement

In November 2020, following a public meeting organised by our Parish Council, the Eversdens EWR Working Group was formed to campaign for a better approach to the East West Rail project. The Group’s campaign is founded on six key assumptions:

1. The threat to our local environment, communities and infrastructure, posed by the East West Rail project, is real and severe.
2. East West Railway Co’s current choice of route option E is not acceptable.
3. We must lobby for a full and fair evaluation of a better way: a northern approach into Cambridge.
4. We must act now before it is too late.
5. We must work with other communities to achieve a strong, united voice.
6. We can each do something to help.

If you have any questions about our campaign, please email our Working Group via ewr.correspondence@gmail.com.

1. The threat posed by the East West Rail project is real and severe

The threat posed by the East West Rail project to our local environment, communities and infrastructure is very real. Although the precise route has yet to be determined, it is increasingly obvious that we are in very serious danger of having a major new railway line built right on our doorsteps. For full background, please read our related post on East West Rail and the Eversdens.

In January 2020, East West Railway Co confirmed that it had selected route option E as its preferred ‘corridor’ for the Bedford to Cambridge section of the East West Rail project. For our purposes, this means that the line is expected to run to a new Cambridge South station through a narrow corridor that runs between Caxton and Great Shelford. East West Railway Co will be consulting on options for specific route alignments within that narrow route corridor in early 2021. The corridor is depicted below:

In practice, the width of the route corridor as it passes the Eversdens is expected to very narrow. The need to avoid the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, south of the A603, seems likely to push the line towards the southern edge of the corridor and very close to the Eversdens.

Our worst fears have been confirmed by surveys that have been conducted or requested on behalf of East West Railway Co in our local area. Information about survey requests has been gathered and plotted on a satellite map of our local area by the Cambridge Approaches Group. The map provides unequivocal evidence that East West Railway Co is considering a route that will run south-east in very close proximity to Little Eversden, and exceptionally close to Lowfields.

All of us need to be aware of this looming threat. To make matters worse, it is all too clear that this will not be a ‘mere’ commuter line: it will be freight-capable. Once the Eastern Section of the East West Rail line is completed, we can expect it to be very heavily used to satisfy the huge demand for freight transport from the East of England ports.

2. East West Rail Co’s current choice of route option E is not acceptable

We do not believe that East West Railway Co has made a persuasive case for a rail line in route option E, and in particular, for a route in the planned corridor between Cambourne and Great Shelford. East West Railway Co’s previous consultation in 2019, which preceded the selection of route option E, was fundamentally flawed: the consultation was neither full, fair, nor transparent. Many residents in potentially affected communities were unaware of East West Railway Co’s proposals; the consultation did not draw adequate attention to key aspects of the proposed rail line that are fundamental to the acceptability of any route choice (including the practical inevitability of the rail line’s use as a major freight line from the East of England ports); and for communities in South Cambridgeshire, the choice presented was no choice at all – it was a choice of equally bad options. All options presented in the 2019 consultation assumed that the new rail line would approach Cambridge from the south, and would carve a relentless path through rural environments and communities without any local benefit.

3. We must lobby for a full and fair evaluation of an alternative option: a northern approach into Cambridge

East West Railway Co’s approach to date is particularly unacceptable because of its continuing failure to give full and equal consideration to an alternative approach, which would see the East West Rail line enter Cambridge from the north.

Over two years ago, CamBedRailRoad developed an alternative route proposal for a ‘Northern Approach’. Unlike all of East West Rail Co’s route proposals, this alternative would enter Cambridge from the north, through Cambridge North station. Full details can be found at http://www.cambedrailroad.org.

A Northern Approach would avoid our local community, but it would also bring many other, wider advantages:

A Northern Approach deserves our emphatic support.

4. We must act now before it is too late

East West Railway Co’s plans are advancing rapidly. East West Railway Co currently plans to carry out a non-statutory consultation exercise on ‘route alignment options’ within the Route Option E corridor early in 2021. We can already guess from the survey requests received by local residents and landowners where East West Railway Co’s thinking is heading. We should not wait for that consultation: to have a chance of success, our fight for a better approach must begin right now.

5. We must work with other communities to achieve a strong, united voice

In isolation, we are a small community. To obtain the best solution for South Cambridgeshire, we need a united voice. To that end, the Eversdens EWR Working Group is working to build a powerful coalition of local communities and local representatives across the route option E area in South Cambridgeshire, to unite and fight together for proper consideration to be given to a Northern Approach into Cambridge.

6. We can each do something to help

Our community is small, but we can achieve real impact if we all play our part. Every resident in the Eversdens can do something to help our cause:

• signing the CamBedRailRoad petition for proper consideration for a Northern Approach into Cambridge;
• writing to local representatives and Ministers;
• spreading the word to neighbours, friends and colleagues;
• staying informed.

Further information about what you can do to help can be found below.

What are we doing to achieve our objectives?

1. The activities of the Eversden EWR Working Group

The Eversdens EWR Working Group is working through its sub-groups to achieve its objectives in several ways. These include:

• raising local awareness about our campaign objectives through leafleting, professional campaign roadside signage, and a planned social media campaign;
• collaborating with other local communities to support their efforts in raising awareness and fighting for a Northern Approach;
• exploring the possibility of legal challenge to East West Railway Co’s decision-making.

2. Contacting us

If you have any questions about our campaign, please email our Working Group via ewr.correspondence@gmail.com.

3. Important campaign resources

You will find links below to:

• our recent campaign leaflet, which is being distributed to all Eversdens households
• our campaign signage, which can be downloaded and home-printed for display in your windows and gardens
• our general information page, which gives fuller information about the background to the East West Rail project and its potential impact on the Eversdens
• the website of the Cambridge Approaches Group, which is working with the Eversdens and other local communities across South Cambridgeshire to lobby for a better approach
• the Twitter page of the Cambridge Approaches Group

What can you do to help?

1. Please write to your MP, District and County Councillors, Mayor, Government Ministers and EWR

We are asking all local residents to write to object to East West Railway Co’s current plans for route option E and demand that proper consideration be given to a Northern Cambridge Approach.

You can create a single email, copied to additional addresses. It would be very helpful if your emails could be addressed to all of the following:

• Anthony Browne MP (anthony.browne.mp@parliament.uk)
• County Councillor Lina Nieto (Lina.Nieto@cambridgeshire.gov.uk)
• District Councillor Aiden Van de Weyer (cllr.vandeweyer@scambs.gov.uk)
• Mayor James Palmer (james.palmer@cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk)
• Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport (shappsg@parliament.uk)
• Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (robert.jenrick.mp@parliament.uk)
• East West Rail (contact@eastwestrail.co.uk)

Below are some key points that you might consider including in your letters:

• Route option E is unacceptable for our local community and for many other local communities in South Cambridgeshire.
• The next consultation on route alignments should not take place without full and equal consideration being given to a Northern Cambridge Approach, against the background of other proposed infrastructure projects and local housing plans.

More specifically:

The nature of the East West Rail project

The East West Rail project has separate components. The ‘Western Section’, connecting Oxford to Bedford, is already under construction. Our immediate local concern is with the siting of the ‘Central Section’, which will run between Bedford and Cambridge. This section has been designated by the Government as a ‘Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project’. The implication is that different planning rules will apply. Construction of this part of the railway is expected to begin in 2025.

It is important to understand that the Central Section, which immediately affects us, is only one part of a larger jigsaw. The ultimate plan is to connect the railway line from Cambridge to the East of England ports. As such, the line planned will not be merely a passenger line, connecting Oxford, Bedford and Cambridge, and intermediate towns, and operating within normal passenger travel hours. Once complete and operational, it will be a major route for heavy freight traffic through our local area, potentially at any hour. We should not underestimate the significance of this and the potential adverse impact.

The development of East West Railway Co’s plans for the Central Section

The East West Railway Company is the company established to develop the Central (Bedford-Cambridge) Section of the planned railway. The Department of Transport is its main shareholder.

The East West Railway Co’s plans for the Central Section have five development stages.

1. Choosing the ‘Preferred Route Option’ (ie, the broad route corridor)
2. Developing ‘Route Alignment Options’ (ie, specific route options, within that corridor)
3. Choosing a ‘Preferred Route Alignment’ (ie, the final route)
4. Securing development consent
5. Starting construction

Stage 1 was completed in early 2020. Stage 2 is in progress. Stage 3 looms on the horizon in 2021.

The Company’s 2019 consultation on its ‘Preferred Route Option’

The East West Railway Co conducted a non-statutory public consultation exercise early in 2019, with a view to identifying its ‘Preferred Route Option’ for the Central Section of the railway: ie, the section between Bedford and Cambridge. Five options were presented in that consultation. These identified five possible ‘corridors’ within which the final route might be located. Information about that 2019 consultation area is archived on the East West Railway Company’s website. The website includes the five route option maps, as well as the original consultation document and underlying technical report.

The Company’s selection of Route Option E as its ‘Preferred Route Option’

In January 2020, the Secretary of State for Transport announced that the preferred route option for the Central Section was what had been known as ‘Route Option E’ in the 2019 consultation.

This decision could not have been worse for our local community: Route Option E is the route option that has the greatest potential for adverse impact on our local area.

As the map shows, Route Option E assumes that a railway station will be sited in the Cambourne/Caxton area, and that the line would run from there through a narrow corridor that runs south-east, crossing the A603, and eventually joining existing rail lines south of Cambridge. In short, if the line follows Route Option E, it will inevitably run between the Eversdens (to its west/south-west) and Comberton/Barton (to its east/north-east).

For maps of the Preferred Route Option, see:

• Bedford to Cambridge: the Preferred Route Option Downloadable Map
• Bedford to Cambridge: the Preferred Route Option Interactive Map

For further information about the Preferred Route Option, and East West Railway Co’s thinking, see:

• Bedford to Cambridge: The Preferred Route Option webpage
• The Preferred Route Option: Summary document
• East West Rail: Your Questions Answered document

Local individuals and groups are seeking, via communications with the Company and Freedom of Information requests, to better understand the calculations that underlie East West Railway Co’s choice of Route Option E. Particular concern has been raised within the Cambourne/Caxton area about the location of the railway station: there is a strong body of local opinion that the station would be better located north of Cambourne, rather than near Caxton, in order to better serve the growing local population and reduce unnecessary local traffic to the station. It is conceivable that re-location of that station to the north might have an impact on route choice and could make more attractive a different route that runs west-east along the A428, before entering Cambridge to its north, or heading south along/near to the M11 to enter Cambridge to its south. We understand that East West Railway Co are exploring the possibility of such a route and that it has the support of our local MP. We should all lobby strongly for it as the best solution for the whole area.

The current stage: developing ‘Route Alignment Options’

Having identified its Preferred Route Option, East West Railway Co is now conducting work to identify a series of specific route options within the Preferred Route Option – what the Company calls the ‘Route Alignment Options’. This includes a large number of environmental and other surveys within the local area. East West Railway Co also began a process of community engagement in early 2020 which was quickly called to a halt in March 2020, when the national Covid-19 lockdown began. East West Railway Co recently re-started this process of community engagement, initially via a series of online workshops with local parish council representatives, across the route area.

East West Railway Co expects to reach a decision in the coming weeks about the Route Alignment Options, on which it will conduct a non-statutory public consultation exercise. It will then select one of those options as its ‘Preferred Route Alignment’. There will then be a statutory public consultation exercise on that preferred alignment. Following that consultation, East West Railway Co will finalise its route proposal and seek the necessary planning consents. Construction is planned to start in 2025.

Although we will have an opportunity to express an opinion during the impending non-statutory public consultation on route alignments and the subsequent statutory public consultation on the preferred route alignment, that is very likely to be too late. It is vital that we take advantage of the opportunity offered to us at this earlier stage to influence East West Railway Co’s thinking about possible routes within the Option E corridor. Even more importantly, we need urgently to lobby our local and regional representatives and East West Railway Co to force them to give proper thought to options outside the current Option E corridor, including – above all – the proposals of CamBedRailRoad for a northern approach to Cambridge.

Time is short and we are a small community by comparison with other affected areas.

The work of the East West Rail Cambridge Approaches Action Group

Little and Great Eversden Parish Council was contacted in August 2020 by a local community group, the East West Rail Cambridge Approaches Action Group (‘the Cambridge Approaches Group’). The Group has a dedicated website, which provides information about its aims and objectives, its work, and links to much useful information: http://cambridgeapproaches.org.

The objectives of the Cambridge Approaches Group

The Cambridge Approaches Group was formed in July 2020 by representatives of local communities located in the Route Option E area – and in particular, the area between Toft and the Shelfords. The objectives of the Cambridge Approaches Group have developed since its original formation.

Objective 1 – Working towards the best outcome for local communities affected by a Route Option E route

The CAG was initially formed to find a route that minimised the impact on people and the environment through the Route Option E area. This was intended to take place through detailed analysis of the Route Option E area, using available expertise, in regular conversation with representatives of local parishes. The hope was to develop local thinking about possible routes through our area, sensitive to the full range of local concerns, which could be discussed with local communities and with East West Railway Co. The Group hoped, by this means, to achieve a more open dialogue between communities and with East West Railway Co, and a better outcome for the communities concerned.

Objective 2 – Campaigning for a review of the decision of East West Railway Company to select Route Option E

However, in the course of performing its work, the CAG has reached the conclusion that East West Railway Company’s decision to choose Route Option E is fundamentally flawed. The CAG is now beginning a process of campaigning for a review of that decision. It is demanding a full and fair evaluation of all possible approaches into Cambridge – both to a north Cambridge or a south Cambridge station. You can find important discussion of the CAG’s developing challenge to the business case that led to the choice of Route Option E on the CAG’s website.

Before East West Rail Co’s last – and woefully inadequate – consultation exercise, another local campaign group, CamBedRailRoad launched a petition demanding that the proposal for a northern Cambridge approach be fairly evaluated alongside alternative routes proposed by East West Rail Co. As yet, this demand remains unsatisfied. The CAG is lending its strong support to this petition. It also deserves our strong support. All residents of the Eversdens are urged to sign the petition, without delay.

The Cambridge Approaches Group’s analysis and discussion of possible route alternatives

The Cambridge Approaches Group’s thinking has continued to develop through its regular meetings, as further information and views are received. In its earlier meetings, six main route alternatives were explored and assessed for their impact on each of the local areas. Of these, alternatives 1-5 fall within the current Route Option E area.

Alternatives 1-5 discussed by the CAG

The five Route Option E area alternative corridors discussed by the Group in September 2020 are depicted on the following map:

For our local community in the Eversdens, the most important point to notice is that four of the five alternative corridors under discussion would see the rail route running within 500 metres-1 km of Little and Great Eversden, and much closer to the far end of the High Street, Little Eversden. The noise and visual impact, in particular, could be considerable. In addition, a route along those lines would inevitably bisect the roads, bridleways and footpaths that serve our local community – the routes our children use to get to school, and the routes that many of us use to get to work in/around Cambridge.

The alternative corridors under discussion by the Cambridge Approaches Group to date have been shaped by a large number of known parameters/constraints.

The primary assumption that currently underlies the siting of the alternative corridors towards the southern edge of the Route Option E boundary, and so closest to Little and Great Eversden, is the major constraint on route choice which is created by the location of the University’s telescope facility (the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory (‘MRAO’)), south/south-east of the A603.

The Cambridge Approaches Group understands that the East West Railway Company has had some preliminary conversations with the MRAO’s management/the University of Cambridge about the implications of the telescope facility for possible rail routes. The outcome of those conversations is not known, but we do know that concerns have been raised about the railway’s potential interference with the telescope facility – primarily in terms of vibration and line of sight issues – which might result in a large ‘exclusion zone’ around the facility, and force the line towards its outer perimeter. At present, this has led the Cambridge Approaches Group to assume that the most likely crossing point over the A603 would be close to the western side of the junction between the A603 and Royston Road (which runs north to Comberton).

Alternatives 6/6A discussed by the CAG

The Cambridge Approaches Group has more recently explored the possibility of an alternative corridor that falls outside the current Route Option E area, identified as alternatives 6/6A. This option assumes that the Cambourne station will be located north of Cambourne, and that the route would run west to east from there along the northern side of the A428, before heading south along/near the M11 corridor, to enter the southern side of Cambridge. Alternatives 6/6A would result in the rail line tracking existing transport corridors to Cambridge.

For the Eversdens and for many other local communities, alternatives 6/6A would be the least worst option of the alternative routes analysed by the Cambridge Approaches Group. Nevertheless, they remain the least worst of a set of very bad options. There is a better alternative: the northern Cambridge approach proposed by CamBedRailRoad, explained immediately below.

The proposals of CamBedRailRoad (CBRR) for a northern Cambridge approach

All residents of the Eversdens need to be aware of alternative route proposals that have been developed and advocated for several years by the CamBedRailRoad group: http://www.cambedrailroad.org. CamBedRailRoad invested a considerable amount of time, effort and expertise in developing an alternative route proposal which would see East West Railway Co’s rail line approach Cambridge from the north, rather than the south. All Eversdens residents are urged to acquaint themselves with the CBRR proposal and the reasons for its adoption: see e.g. http://www.cambedrailroad.org/general.php?id=49 and see their document, Arguments for a Northern Approach into Cambridge, as well as other resources on their website. CBRR present a very powerful case for the adoption of northern Cambridge approach. However, this ‘northern approach’ is not currently being considered by East West Railway Co and it has not been adequately considered at earlier stages in East West Railway Co’s work. Despite CBRR’s earlier work and advocacy, the 2019 non-statutory consultation exercise by East West Railway Co offered five route options, all of which assumed that the line would enter Cambridge from the south. This means that the public has never been consulted on the relative merits of northern and southern approaches, and CBRR’s arguments for a northern approach have never been adequately countered by East West Railway Co. This is unacceptable.

Against that background, it is vital that we and other local communities lobby immediately, urgently and widely for the postponement of EWR’s impending non-statutory consultation on route alignments within the route option E area, in order to allow for a proper consideration of CBRR’s proposal for a northern approach, and for a public consultation on the relative merits of northern and southern approaches. The impending non-statutory consultation on what is currently route option E should not take place, unless and until it has been demonstrated by EWR that there are compelling reasons against CBRR’s proposals and in favour of EWR’s current plans. Those reasons have not yet been provided.

What can you do?

To obtain the best solution for our local community, there are things that we can each do.

We need you all to write to your MP, District and County Councillors and Mayor

East West Railway Co is a public body so every email and letter to a politician will count. An original letter has more impact than a template letter. If you send an e-mail send it to Anthony Browne MP and copy the others listed in the ‘cc’ line. Please consider writing to:

• your local MP, Anthony Browne (anthony.browne.mp@parliament.uk);
• your District Councillor, Aiden van de Weyer (cllr.vandeweyer@scambs.gov.uk);
• your County Councillor, Lina Nieto (Lina.Nieto@cambridgeshire.gov.uk);
• your Mayor James Palmer (james.palmer@cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk).

You should also consider writing to East West Railway Co to express your concerns, by emailing contact@eastwestrail.co.uk, or sending a letter to FREEPOST East West Rail.

We need you all to sign CamBedRailRoad’s petition for a fair evaluation of a northern approach into Cambridge

CamBedRailRoad launched a petition demanding that the proposal for a northern Cambridge approach be fairly evaluated alongside alternative routes proposed by East West Railway Co. As yet, this demand remains unsatisfied. This demand deserves our strong support. All residents of the Eversdens should sign this petition, which is linked here, without delay.

We need you all to stay informed

The village website will be updated as we receive further information about the EWR project. We will use the village email mailing list to let you know when important new information is added to the website.

Please also consider signing up the Cambridge Approaches Group’s news (www.cambridgeapproaches.org/). Cambridge Approaches (CAG) aims to hold EWR to account on behalf of our local communities and identify better routes. We have a PC representative that attends their meetings.

You could also subscribe to East West Railway Co’s newsletter (www.eastwestrail.co.uk/get-in-touch/newsletter).