As you will probably be aware, East West Rail (EWR) intends to close the London Road level crossing to vehicles without providing an alternative crossing, and to construct a bridge or underpass for pedestrians and cyclists. The first part of the new line between Oxford and Bletchley is scheduled to open later this year and EWR is expected to close the crossing before it reaches full capacity, which would in any case see the crossing closed for up to 45mins every hour. In order to secure the best possible option for Graven Hill, whatever that looks like for you, you need to comment via https://eastwestrail.co.uk/consultation2024 before the official consultation concludes on Friday 24th January. Even if you have already provided feedback, please read the recommended steps towards the end of this article.
As it stands, cars and other traffic will no longer have access to the town centre and will have to use other routes such as the A41 towards Kingsmere, and Launton Road from around the ring road. This is expected to lead to increased pressure on the roads around Bicester and surrounding villages, affecting all vehicle users and not just those travelling to the town centre. EWR’s own figures from November 2023 indicate that there were 62,283 vehicle crossings per week. Although the closure of the level crossing may promote walking and cycling, residents will have to draw their own conclusions as to how many of these journeys can realistically be replaced this way. On top of this, whatever effect there is on traffic in the short-to-medium term, the situation will be compounded by the addition of 1,300 homes in the next stage at Graven Hill and the 1,500 homes planned at Wretchwick Green, just across the road between us and Langford.
Separate to this, there has also been concern about the proposed EWR designs for a pedestrian/cycling bridge or underpass (see chapter 8: https://eastwestrail-production.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/public/2024-con-docs-/50762a4465/EWR_2024_Con-Doc_v3.pdf#page=30 ). It is not clear, for instance, why sightlines are obstructed by a bend in the underpass, raising safety concerns for vulnerable users and why it needs to be as long as it is for such a short crossing. Alongside that, the proposed bridge is explicitly highlighted as the “cheap” option, compromising on aesthetics and function. Neither option shows the ambition of the Dutch underpass at Bilthoven station (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXX-KKQNs-Y&authuser=0 ) or the Bourg Walk bridge in Aylesbury. Both these examples also provide a lift for improved accessibility, something that EWR has not included.
There are grounds for optimism though. EWR is a national project and £750m has been set aside for its completion. This includes funds to address issues along the length of the line. Consequently, the challenge for residents is not to convince anyone to assign any new funds but to acquire a bigger slice of the pie by making the case that Bicester’s need is greater than that of others along the line. Our local MP, Calum Miller, also recently secured a debate in the House of Commons about the matter. He presented a compelling argument centred around “fairness” which has left the door open (or at least slightly ajar) for Bicester to improve upon the EWR proposals ( https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2024-12-11/debates/01CF065A-29BB-4C33-8FE9-5C708AC99511/NationallySignificantInfrastructureProjectsAndLocalRoadNetworks ).
So, what can we do? Whether you want to maintain the road link to the town centre via London Road or simply improve the pedestrian/cycle options currently on the table, it is very important that as many residents as possible (not just one per household) provide feedback as part of the EWR consultation process. This can only be done if an official form was completed at one of their consultation meetings or through the web form at https://eastwestrail.co.uk/consultation2024 . It should be noted that no other type of feedback provided to EWR will be taken into consideration. In addition to the formal consultation feedback, it is recommended that letters are also written to the Minister for Rail, Peter Hendy, at hendyp@parliament.uk making your views known. Please also copy in our local MP at calum.miller.mp@parliament.uk .
When providing your consultation feedback, the key question for Graven Hill residents is Q5 which is concerned with the Oxford to Bletchley portion of the line. If you believe access to the town centre via London Road by car is important, then select “Other” and explain why. If you favour a pedestrian/cyclist “bridge” or an “underpass”, still select “Other” to emphasise any concerns you have with the designs that have been put forward. The same applies if you don’t have a preference between either option for pedestrians and cyclists. Further help with annotated screenshots can be found at https://lvca.org.uk/london-road-online-responding-to-the-consultation/. As mentioned, the deadline for this feedback is when the consultation ends on Friday 24th January.
Graven Hill Residents' Association 