Expressway would ‘add pollution’

THE proposed Oxford to Cambridge “expressway” would increase air pollution, Watlington Parish Council has warned.

The council has already formally objected to the
£3 billion road being built, saying it had been brought forward with no formal public consultation or assessment of its impact on the environment.

Now it says the scheme will increase air pollution in areas which are already subject to air quality management action and increase the weight of traffic on routes passing through Watlington to the expressway.

The council is also concerned about the associated housebuilding, saying the concentration of development in the South-East runs contrary to the Government’s objective of developing the economic power of the Midlands and the North.

Councillor Terry Jackson told a meeting on Tuesday that there hadn’t been consultation on the road.

Councillor Nick Hancock said there was a “lack of transparency” with non-disclosure agreements being signed by private sector organisations.

The council, which is a member of the Expressway Action Group with other parishes and villages opposed to the road, agreed to support an expanded objection.