Oxford Cambridge Expressway (OCE) Update
Following the update from the Parish Council on 18th June, the OCE was discussed again at the recent Parish Council meeting on 15th July.
In addition, the Chearsley OCE Working Group met on Monday evening (22nd July) and Chearsley PC were represented at a meeting organised by the No Expressway Group on Tuesday evening (23rdJuly) to explore ways in which local PCs might benefit in ‘joining forces’ to deal with the major challenges presented by this new development.
It is vitally important that all Chearsley residents appreciate the potential impact on our community of the building of an Oxford-Cambridge Expressway, as well as the possibility of a massive housing development programme, which may include the construction of 64,000 new houses in an area designated ‘East of Oakley’, just a short distance from our own village.
There are already several campaign groups opposing the development who have detailed information on their websites – have a look at some of these links:
The No Expressway Alliance:
The Expressway Action Group:
Bucks Expressway Group:
There are also a number of government departments and other organisations who support the broad principle of an Oxford-Cambridge Expressway from an overall economic perspective, as evidenced by the following links:
National Infrastructure Commission:
Highways England:
England’s Economic Heartland:
In the near future, the Parish Council will launch a formal consultation with the whole of the Chearsley community to determine its views and from which it will be able to develop a public position.
In addition, the Parish Council is arranging a meeting at the Village Hall on the evening of Monday 9th September, to which a range of experts will be invited to brief us on their own perspectives on the OCE project and its potential impacts.
In the meantime, Ian Houseman, a longstanding resident of Chearsley, with an extensive background in agricultural and environmental matters, has kindly agreed to prepare a report on behalf of the Parish Council, documenting the ‘assets’ of our village under the following headings.
- Landscape
- Cultural heritage
- Nature conservation
- Geology & soils
- Road drainage and the water environment
If any parishioners feel able to make a contribution to Ian’s report, please contact him at ian.houseman@btconnect.com
For any further information on the OCE project and related issues, please contact Councillor John Howard at jnh@dbmc.co.uk
