New environmental surveys are being initiated by East West Railway Company (EWR Co) to help inform planning and design work for the East-West Rail line connecting Cambridge, Bedford, Milton Keynes, and Oxford. EWR Co has written to over 600 landowners in and around the area, to ask for access to their land in order to help understand local environmental conditions.
 
The surveys – which will be carried out throughout 2021 - will gather data on plant and animal life, environmental features like rivers and streams, and historical features. This activity is part of EWR Co’s continued commitment to put environmental considerations at the heart of proposals for the new East-West Rail connection.  The timing of the surveys is key as certain species can only be monitored at specific times of the year.

The data from the new environmental surveys will underpin an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which will be published when EWR Co submits plans – expected to be in 2022.