Bucks MP calls for 'expressway' to be officially scrapped
Greg Smith says the government needs to bin the roadway
Buckingham's MP is calling for the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway to be officially scrapped.
It's a year since the scheme, which would cut across Aylesbury Vale, was 'paused' by the government.
Greg Smith has been telling us why the project needs to be cancelled:
"I know that no work has been done on this road, progressing it in any way, shape or form in the last year.
"So I have written to Grant Shapps, asking him to formerly and fully cancel the road."
Next week's budget - March 3rd - marks a year since the government formally paused the project and there has been no work on it all in the last 12 months.
In a letter to Grant Shapps Greg says:
"I remain grateful for the time you have given me to discuss this project since the 2019 General Election campaign, enabling me to directly make the case as to why the Expressway would be a disaster for Buckinghamshire, particularly in terms of the environmental destruction it would bring.
"I am equally encouraged that the project has been paused for so long, with absolutely no work being carried out to progress it in any way. However, I write today to urge you to fully and formally cancel this proposed new road, so my constituents can have certainty and peace of mind that the threat is over.
"I cannot stress enough the anxiety that unwanted and destructive proposals like the Expressway bring to my constituents. The situation is particularly stark given the devastation High Speed Two is already bringing to our doorstep.
"You have heard the arguments against this road many times. It cannot be right, as the government focuses on delivering the net zero commitment by 2050 to carve out another massive corridor of Buckinghamshire for what is essentially a new motorway. Enough is enough, it is time to firmly end the Expressway nightmare."
The road was planned to run from Oxford to Cambridge across the Vale, with the preferred route mirroring East West Rail's route across the north of Bucks, past Winslow.
Campaigners feared the road would lead to the creation of a big new town around Calvert and local councils were left unimpressed with the lack of connectivity with Aylesbury.