East-West Rail project: 'It's going to cut us in half'

Residents of the small Bedfordshire village of Lidlington talk proudly about their thatched-roof pub, beautiful woodlands, lake popular with birdwatchers and their unique position at the bottom of a steep winding hill. But there are fears it could be divided in two under plans for a new rail link. How have the villagers reacted?

Lidlington's level crossing is at the heart of a number of proposals under the £5bn East-West rail project. It could be closed for 40 minutes every hour.

Andrew Penn, vice-chair of Lidlington Parish Council, says that simply will not work for the community which has just over 1,000 residents, according to the 2011 census.

"It's going to cut us in half, pure and simple," he says.

The new rail link is designed to connect communities between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge, according to the East West Rail Company (EWR Co), set up by the Department for Transport in 2018 to deliver the project.

Of the many villages where the plans are causing a stir is Lidlington, almost halfway along the Milton Keynes to Bedford section.

Options include replacing the level crossing with a footbridge and building a new road around the village for vehicles, or keeping the crossing open, but closing it for up to 40 minutes every hour because of an increase in trains.

Bypassing the village with a new railway line is said to be too costly.

"People are angry, people are a bit frightened about what the implications are," Mr Penn says.

"They're angry because of the splitting of the village and community in two, and the feeling that we're not really being listened to."

While the public consultation closed earlier this month, the exact route has yet to be finalised, with a decision expected by next year.

Development consent is anticipated by 2024 and work could begin the following year.

Mr Penn argues the level crossing proposals would create issues for one side of the village to access the sports field or school, and the other side who want to go to the pub or village hall.

"It's just creating two communities out of one, breaking up a vibrant community and throwing trains at 110mph (177km/h) straight through the village with all the noise, the vibration and pollution that that will bring."

Lidlington is not the only village where level crossing plans are causing headaches.

Five miles down the road in Woburn Sands, resident Judy Barker says EWR Co's consultation document has not "in any way" taken into account the views of those living in the village.

"The main proposal is closing the level crossing, which would effectively close the main route through Woburn Sands and all the villages beyond that go towards Milton Keynes," she says.

The "completely outrageous" proposals would divide the community in two, she adds.

"For example, the garden centre up the road is outraged. Most of their employees live in Woburn Sands. They walk to work and if the railway line is closed they can't, so it's a complete disaster.

"It simply will not work for us the way things are at the moment and we're very sorry that they have not listened to our views."

Richard Fuller, the Conservative MP for North East Bedfordshire, raised a debate in the House of Commons on Monday night to "expose the significant problems of the consultation".

He told the House there were "multiple" flaws including giving "every indication of being purposefully designed to reduce the interest and participation of residents in the area ultimately selected for the route".

In response, Transport Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said the Department for Transport was "content that both consultations met open and fair consultation standards".

Speaking to the BBC prior to the debate, Mr Fuller also said the plans would have a "brutal impact" on the local environment. "That topic should have been right at the start of the consultation," he says.

A spokesperson from EWR Co said: "In 2019 we held a consultation at a very early stage in the design for East-West Rail. The level of feedback we received was very high in comparison to similar projects.

"We have just closed a second non-statutory consultation and have published an unprecedented level of information on cost alongside a wide range of information on the new rail line.

"We will hold another consultation before a formal application is made for East-West Rail, and will continue having conversations with people across the route as the design develops."

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