Cambridgeshire calls on East West Rail to mitigate impact of new line on wildlife

The East West Rail (EWR) rail project connecting Oxford and Cambridge could result in losses to wildlife sites, habitat and species, says Cambridgeshire County Council.

In its draft response, the council said it supported the strategic objectives of EWR, including improvements to public transport connectivity, new housing and employment, and plans for future growth, but expressed concerns about the project’s impact on wildlife in in the county.

The scheme should be redesigned to avoid harming habitats and include measures to support biodiversity, the council states.

As an example, it highlights the “far wider and greater severance of the landscape between St Neots and Cambourne as a result of cumulative impacts with A428 road improvement works”. The scheme will also harm wildlife corridors linking Boys Wood and Sir Johns Wood (location of A428 bat tunnel), Pillar Plantation (including A428 early tree planting); along Hen, Wintringham, Fox, Gallow & West brooks (location of A428 underpasses) and A428 mammal crossing under Toseland Road Bridge.

Impacts on the sites from both the construction and operational phases of the project must be considered, says the council. This should include National Site Network sites within 10km of the line (Portholme and Eversden & Wimpole Woods Special Areas of Conservation), other statutory sites within 2km (Sites of Special Scientific Interest / Local Nature Reserves), non-statutory sites within 500m (County Wildlife Sites, City Wildlife Sites and Local Geological Sites and a potential County Wildlife Site) and Protected Road Verges within 500m of the scheme.

The DfT created the East West Railway Company in 2017 to develop plans for the new railway.

As well as connecting Oxford and Cambridge, EWR includes upgrading an existing section of railway between Oxford and Bicester; bringing back a section of railway between Bicester and Bletchley; refurbishing existing railway between Bletchley and Bedford; and building new railway infrastructure between Bedford and Cambridge.

In the Autumn Budget last year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves committed delivering EWR to drive growth between Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge with the first services running between Oxford, Bletchley and Milton Keynes this year and trains between Oxford and Bedford running from 2030.

Cambridgeshire County Council is concerned that EWR will affect ecological mitigation measures set out in its A428 Environmental Master Plan, including changes to approved habitat creation, delay of landscape planting and destruction of watercourse enhancements.

EWR is carrying out a 10-week public consultation and has also been holding engagement events in towns and villages.

The council has suggested that EWR should introduce a fund for communities affected by the disruption and the loss of land. It warns that the scheme could impact on the health and wellbeing of residents as a result of due to disruption and noise during construction process.

Tristan Lincoln-Gordon, Head of Environment at East West Railway Company, said: “The environment is a vital part of our design work and we are committed to avoiding or minimising negative impacts on all valued species and habitats, or providing suitable mitigation where this is not possible.

“Potential environmental impacts have been considered early in our decision making, helping ensure the new railway avoids directly affecting key ecological sites such as ancient woodlands.”

He added: “The potential impact continues to be considered as part our design development work. For example, we have amended our route design to include a tunnel beneath Chapel Hill which will help to minimise disruption to the flight path of barbastelle bats as well as reduce impacts on the community. We have also pledged to achieve a 10% biodiversity net gain along the route.

“Twenty Ecological Compensation Sites have been created during construction of the first stage of EWR between Bicester and Bletchley, which includes new habitats for nearly 30 badger setts, a bat house being used by roosting bats, ponds for great crested newts and two artificial otter holts. We will be replicating this kind of work along the rest of the route, including south Cambridgeshire.”