Campaign group Stop the Arc has described the economic initiative connecting Oxford and Cambridge as having “comprehensively failed”.
The Oxford-Cambridge Arc – spanning Oxfordshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, and Cambridgeshire – is a region estimated to contribute over £110 billion to the UK economy annually and support over two million jobs.
In a 2017 plan, the National Infrastructure Commission proposed connecting Oxford and Cambridge via East West Rail and a new “Ox-Cam Expressway”, as well as developing 1 million new houses. The government initially supported this prospectus, inviting local authorities to contribute and naming the Arc a key economic priority.
However, Stop the Arc Group has been campaigning against housing development plans and the East West Rail, citing environmental concerns as their reasoning.
The group’s trustee Nick Burton told Cherwell: “East West Rail is damaging to the environment even if electrified due to the construction pollution and its dependency on sprawling rural housing”.
A similar criticism came from the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), which warned against the damaging impact of developing settlements on nature and the climate.
Industry leaders supporting the initiative cited economic gains. A recent report by the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board projected that the region has the potential to add an additional £50 billion to the economy annually by 2030, making the region a “crown jewel” of European science and innovation.
However, Stop the Arc trustee Roger Carey told Cherwell: “The loss of agricultural land, equivalent to as many as 1,100 average size English farms, conflicts with all green agendas and sustainability considerations. [It will] lead to a significant reduction in food production and supply-chain employment.”
As of now, Oxford-Cambridge Arc has not seen much progress. The government transferred the housing development plan jurisdiction to local leaders and cancelled the expressway plan because analysis showed it would not be cost-effective.
