The Oxford to Cambridge Expressway is a proposed grade-separateddual carriageway between the A34 near Oxford and the A14 near Cambridge, via Milton Keynes. The proposal aims to establish this route by linking existing roads and building new ones. The case for its creation is examined in a Strategic Study for the Cambridge – Milton Keynes – Oxford corridor, published by National Infrastructure Commission in November 2016. The NIC sees the road as being of national strategic importance by providing an outer orbital route around London, linking Southampton, the M3, M4, M40, M1, A1, A14/M11 and Felixstowe. Alongside its report, the Commission sponsored a contest to encourage suggestions for how urban spaces may be developed along the proposed route.
Background
The government states that the Cambridge – Milton Keynes – Oxford corridor is one of the most significant growth areas in the country. Local authorities within the corridor are planning for substantial job and housing growth to support the continued economic development of the region. However, there is currently poor east-west connectivity, resulting in Oxford and Cambridge having better connections to London than each other or to major settlements between. In his Budget speech Autumn 2017, Philip Hammond referred to the plan and declared it was the Government's intention "To create a dynamic new growth corridor for the 21st Century". The proposal is opposed by councils in Oxfordshire
Route and costs
, most of the eastern half of the route already exists. However, the route for the western half, from the A34 near Oxford to the A421 east of Milton Keynes, has yet to be decided. The National Infrastructure Commission was instructed by Government to evaluate options in order to identify the spatial areas on which further detailed assessments, including further engineering studies, a Strategic Environmental Assessment and a Habitats Regulation Assessment. The three broad corridor options that were considered by the NIC are shown in outline form on page 39 of the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway Strategic Study: Stage 3 Report. These were a northerly corridor, a central corridor parallel with East West Rail, and a new southern corridor along the A418 corridor, bypassing Aylesbury to the north, meeting the M40 at or near Junction 7 or 8. In August 2017 the engineering consultancy Jacobs was awarded a £15m contract to examine these options. All three broad corridors begin at M1 J13, where the expressway currently ends. In addition, two alternative corridors are shown around Oxford, one to the north and another to the south between the M40 at J7 or J8 and the A34 just north of Abingdon. In September 2018, the Government announced selection of Option B that it had 'paused' work on plans east of the M1. Early estimates of the cost of completing the expressway are in the region of £3 billion.
In an interview in The Sunday Times in March 2018, Sajid Javid, the housing secretary, said that he would give the go-ahead to at least two new towns along the corridor 'in the next few weeks' and could push for up to three more., these announcements have not materialised.
Development of land adjacent to Expressway
The National Infrastructure Commission launched a two-stage ideas contest in June 2017 in support of the project with the objective of encouraging a wide range of bodies to put forward suggestions about how the urban space alongside the route could be used. In December 2017, the Commission announced that the winning submission was that proposed by Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design, The proposal is based on cycle and pedestrian transport and the worked example suggests a cluster of villages around Winslow, Buckinghamshire, which is on the East West Rail Link rather than the Expressway.
Criticism
On Tuesday 12 December 2017, Councillors at Oxfordshire County Council debated a Motion criticising the process by which Highways England will select a route with no opportunity for members of the public or their representatives to comment on the need for the road or the local impact of any particular proposed route. The Motion called for a Public Enquiry into the proposal, so that everyone involved has the opportunity to have their views properly taken into account. The Motion was carried by 49 votes to 5, with 1 abstention. On Tuesday 2 April 2019 the Council passed a further motion demanding that a fuller consultation is carried out asking local residents if they want an Expressway and associated construction before any route is considered. On Tuesday 5 November the County Council passed a further motion stating "Oxfordshire does not support the building of the Expressway irrespective of which route is chosen.” On 18 July 2019 South Oxfordshire District Council passed a motion opposing the Expressway. The Campaign to Protect Rural England has said that the favoured route that passes through the greenbelt is unnecessary and would encourage expansion of Oxford. The Oxford Times reported an action group had been formed to demand a public consultation. This was followed by a poster campaign in April 2018. Keith Taylor, a Green MEP for the South East, said the lack of a potential public consultation of the proposed road breaches international environmental law. He made further criticisms after visiting Oxford. George Monbiot, writing in The Guardian, claims the Expressway and associated conurbation would irrevocably change Oxfordshire and that there has been no public debate. The September 2018 announcement was described as 'a monumental disaster and a dagger stabbing at the heart of Oxfordshire' in an Oxford Mail article. On 3 October 2018 the Oxfordshire Growth Board wrote to Government demanding clarity with regard to the choice of route and funding.
Strategic Roads Network
In its RIS2 Strategic Roads Network strategy, the Department for Transport announced that it is 'pausing' work on the segment of the Expressway between the M1 and the M40. The same report lists work on the last remaining section of the segment between the A1 and the M11/A14 as 'committed'.
