The East West Railway Company (EWR Co) is inviting local communities between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge to identify and map their favourite local natural green spaces in a new online tool launched on the East West Rail Community Hub.
The interactive web application invites local residents to chart their neighbourhoods’ favourite public green spaces and highlight how to access them. The tool also encourages users to share the stories behind their favourite green spaces and why they cherish them, which will help paint a picture of which natural public green spaces along the route are the perfect places to run, walk the dog, explore or meet family and friends.
These local user-generated insights, alongside technical mapping information, will be used by EWR Co to launch a fresh Oxford to Cambridge greenspaces map for communities to use in Spring 2022, which will coincide with more people increasingly looking to access outdoor spaces as the weather improves. The map will promote the use of natural green spaces locally and help people discover local hidden gems of accessible green space, all built on insights from local communities.
The greenspaces map will support local ambitions to increase physical activity and improve public health outcomes. EWR Co is calling on some of the more urban communities along the route to submit the natural green spaces in their neighbourhoods, as there is less accessible green space close to residential areas. These insights will help support local partners with their own public health initiatives, while also providing valuable insights for EWR Co as it looks to deliver social value for local communities.
Ian Parker, Programme Delivery Director at EWR Co said:
“Making sure we add social value and bring lasting legacies to local communities is as important to us at EWR Co as laying tracks on the ground for East West Rail. The Oxford to Cambridge greenspaces map will help local efforts to improve public health outcomes – particularly in urban areas – and help ensure East West Rail supports a legacy of improved access to natural green spaces along the route.”
The tool is available on the East West Rail Community Hub here. It follows previous discussions on the hub that have built on local insights, including people’s rail travel experiences and how people would like to hear about Project updates.
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About the East West Rail project
East West Rail intends to create a new direct connection between Oxford and Cambridge. Serving communities across the area, it intends to bring faster journey times and lower transport costs as well as ease pressure on local roads.
East West Rail is planned to be delivered in three Connection Stages:
- Connection Stage One: Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes
- Connection Stage Two: Oxford to Bedford
- Connection Stage Three: Oxford to Cambridge
Network Rail was responsible for developing the first part of the East West Rail, connecting Oxford with Bicester, and is a partner in a construction alliance to deliver Connection Stage 1 of the project, where East West Railway Company (EWR Co) is acting as the Department for Transport’s sponsor.
EWR Co is now developing the route to enable services to run to Cambridge via Bedford and will be seeking statutory powers under the Planning Act 2008, following a period of extensive consultation.
About East West Railway Company
East West Railway Company (EWR Co) was set up by the Secretary of State for Transport in 2018 to develop East West Rail, a railway with customers and communities at its core.
We have a mission to innovate and challenge the status-quo in the rail and construction industries, leading to a more efficient and cost-effective project delivery, and a great experience for passengers and the communities we serve.
Our distinctive outlook and commitment to doing the right thing for our customers and local communities runs through everything we do and every decision we make.
