East West rail, Bletchley to oxford line

[Oldddudders]

Some of us cheerfully avoided offspring altogether, a decision taken long before Deb and I were married in 1974. It used to depress me to see very able female colleagues, often eminently suitable for the senior roles they occupied, start to look to motherhood for their future, in many cases never coming back. A waste, as Kevin said. 

 

60 years ago the race was on to invent the birth-control pill, thus giving women more control of their reproductive system. I have often wondered what might have happened if the pill had also been designed to inhibit their wish to reproduce. World population, and the inevitable pollution we all generate, would have been reduced, and some of the conflicts identified in this thread might have been avoided.

 

As for being a grandparent childminder, sheesh. 

[Zomboid]

11 hours ago, corneliuslundie said:

I am not sure about this two income thing any more. I was very surprised to read a recent report which stated that a woman needed to earn £40,000 a year to be better off than not working if she had to pay for commercial child care for two children.

Sounds about right. My wife and I are just about to get into all that, and we've worked out that whilst we only have one child we'll make a small profit on her wages once she's paid to get to work and for the childcare - all other expenses are going to have to come from my earnings. If we have a second we'd make a massive loss if she went back to work.

Which isn't really satisfactory, but it is what it is, and I don't see it changing any time soon.

[rodent279]

3 hours ago, Zomboid said:

Sounds about right. My wife and I are just about to get into all that, and we've worked out that whilst we only have one child we'll make a small profit on her wages once she's paid to get to work and for the childcare - all other expenses are going to have to come from my earnings. If we have a second we'd make a massive loss if she went back to work.

Which isn't really satisfactory, but it is what it is, and I don't see it changing any time soon.

Exactly the same for us. Just about worth my wife going back to work financially, more so taking into account her long term employability, and her mental health. Childcare is hard work, and work provided a welcome break, though not without its own problems.

[corneliuslundie]

One problem is then often that the wife both works full time and has to try to be a full time parent, which i feel is rather akin to slavery.

I am also not at all sure what the long term effect will be of children spending so much of their time away from parental influences.

And our government sometimes seems to think that schools are for child minding rather than education.

Of course if no-one had children we would solve the housing and transport problems but you could forget your old age pensions as they are paid for out of current income.

Anyway perhaps we need to get back on topic. Has anything been said about the future of the radio telescope which I believe occupies part of the route?

Jonathan

[chris p bacon]

12 minutes ago, corneliuslundie said:

Has anything been said about the future of the radio telescope which I believe occupies part of the route?

 

The mallard observatory is on the old formation,  IIRC the proposed routes/corridors don't use or cross it.

[lmsforever]

There are are many telescopes on this site you can see from the road to Potton out of Cambridge.

[2750Papyrus]

2 hours ago, chris p bacon said:

 

The mallard observatory is on the old formation,  IIRC the proposed routes/corridors don't use or cross it.

 

How very "non-U" of you!

 

 

[Nearholmer]

So, it’s not a load of hi-tech stuff for looking at ducks with, then?

[Edwin_m]

56 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

So, it’s not a load of hi-tech stuff for looking at ducks with, then?

No, it's a means of scientifically confirming whether Gresley's designs actually went even faster.  

 

On a more serious note, with the observatory, the M11 (lack of) crossing and the busway beyond, it's highly unlikely EWR would approach Cambridge on the original LNWR route.  It would most likely merge with the Royston-Cambridge line somewhere further west, which would also allow it to serve the projected Cambridge South station near Addenbrooke's.  

Edited September 27, 2019 by Edwin_m

[chris p bacon]

There is an announcement due sometime towards the end of the year concerning the Eastern section from Bedford to Cambridge.  There isn't a clear route at present but there is some unusual planning activity in the Sandy area.

 

At present there are a group of landowners who own small parcels of land to the North of Sandy.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.1456836,-0.2940733,1319m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

There are something like 8 landowners who have engaged the services of a development company called Pigeon Land Ltd. Over the last couple of years there have been several attempts at gaining planning on the land even though it is outside the town boundary and was excluded from further development. 

http://plantech.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/PLANTECH/DCWebPages/acolnetcgi.gov?ACTION=UNWRAP&RIPNAME=Root.PgeResultDetail&TheSystemkey=609159

 

After gaining a refusal the owners have elected for a Public enquiry rather than a straightforward appeal. The enquiry was scheduled to start on the 1st October 2019,  but at the last minute was put back to the 11th February 2020.  This isn't all that unusual but Central Beds are very tight lipped as to why it's been put back and actually seem to be in the dark.   It seems that a 3rd party has been speaking to the Planning inspectorate.  The only 3rd party that has a possible interest in that area is East West as it's one of the possible corridors to Cambridge. East West aren't on the list of consultees so could it be that they are now taking an interest in the possible use of the land?

 

Curious........or completely unconnected....

[Nearholmer]

They might be seeking planning permission in the very hope that it does turn out to be on the route, given that a field with PP would get assessed and bought under compulsory purchase at a much higher value than without PP, probably factoring in loss of future earnings etc, and the only outlay to increase its value would be to prepare applications.

Edited October 9, 2019 by Nearholmer

[chris p bacon]

Isn't there a mechanism in compulsory purchase orders that overcomes this ?      Something along the lines that as the application* was after the announcement of the project it doesn't qualify for the PP uplift as it is purely speculative ( I stand to be corrected)

 

*This site has had numerous applications over the years, the reality is that the area they are seeking PP on is locked in by other lands that are owned by charities without the ability to sell easily as well as other owners who have stated they will not sell. Also Part of the land to the east is the remains of the town dump which is capped as no one actually knows what's in there.

[Nearholmer]

But, if the route isn’t nailed, has the project reached that stage.

 

i have no idea - merely speculating!

[The Stationmaster]

13 hours ago, chris p bacon said:

There is an announcement due sometime towards the end of the year concerning the Eastern section from Bedford to Cambridge.  There isn't a clear route at present but there is some unusual planning activity in the Sandy area.

 

At present there are a group of landowners who own small parcels of land to the North of Sandy.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.1456836,-0.2940733,1319m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

There are something like 8 landowners who have engaged the services of a development company called Pigeon Land Ltd. Over the last couple of years there have been several attempts at gaining planning on the land even though it is outside the town boundary and was excluded from further development. 

http://plantech.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/PLANTECH/DCWebPages/acolnetcgi.gov?ACTION=UNWRAP&RIPNAME=Root.PgeResultDetail&TheSystemkey=609159

 

After gaining a refusal the owners have elected for a Public enquiry rather than a straightforward appeal. The enquiry was scheduled to start on the 1st October 2019,  but at the last minute was put back to the 11th February 2020.  This isn't all that unusual but Central Beds are very tight lipped as to why it's been put back and actually seem to be in the dark.   It seems that a 3rd party has been speaking to the Planning inspectorate.  The only 3rd party that has a possible interest in that area is East West as it's one of the possible corridors to Cambridge. East West aren't on the list of consultees so could it be that they are now taking an interest in the possible use of the land?

 

Curious........or completely unconnected....

Judging by those images on Google it looks like they can either forget having a station alongside the ECML station or demolish a goodly portion of the town!  The original route now appears to be so heavily built over/in other use there would seem to be no hope at all of it being used.

[chris p bacon]

7 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

Judging by those images on Google it looks like they can either forget having a station alongside the ECML station or demolish a goodly portion of the town!  The original route now appears to be so heavily built over/in other use there would seem to be no hope at all of it being used.

 

Very little of the old route is scheduled to be used in the new options. Between the A1 and Bedford the old route is part of route 51 and is intact, but as soon as it crosses the A1 it is built on with housing and a school.

At the time the original route skirted around the greensand ridge escarpment, but with modern contruction techniques that doesn't present a problem.

[Edwin_m]

There is a process called "safeguarding" which has been applied by HS2 and others, where any significant planning applications in a designated zone are automatically referred to the promoter to determine whether they make the project more difficult.  However it doesn't apply retrospectively when planning permission is already granted when it comes into effect - for this reason it tends to become effective very soon after it is announced, but is coupled to a blight compensation arrangement for those whose property has become unsaleable.  The latter arrangements can be expensive, which is one reason why early stage feasibility studies very rarely show lines on maps.  In this case the EWR route options were shown only as large shaded zones, but some options funnel down to a fairly narrow corridor at Sandy so it seems someone is trying it on by trying to increase the value of land that has a high chance of being needed.  

Edited October 10, 2019 by Edwin_m

[ess1uk]

Any more progress with EWR?

[Davexoc]

22 hours ago, ess1uk said:

Any more progress with EWR?

 

Nothing much seems to be going on. The electrical substation is still next to the line at Claydon, and there is no sign of anything going on at least until Bletchley, where there are regeneration plans being talked about. With the Claydon section planned to be the HS2 infrastructure depot, I do wonder what will happen there pending a decision HS2. If HS2 was cancelled, I take it EWR plans would change too.

[ess1uk]

Apologies if I’ve missed it, but Where does HS2 cross EWR at Claydon?

 

[Zomboid]

The HS2 proposed route pretty much follows the GCR through that part of the country.

[ess1uk]

Not being familiar with the area but looking at satellite pictures I’m guessing that HS2 heads roughly north from Quainton station and crosses at right angle EWR round about Claydon Junction?

[Edwin_m]

HS2 is on or very close to the path of the GC main line through Claydon - I think the line from Aylesbury has to move slightly eastwards to accommodate it.  There's a full set of plans somewhere but I can't access them as I'm on a train with ropy internet.  

[Nearholmer]

IIRC, HS2 is west of the GCR alignment until just south of the power station and mega-dump, then takes-up the GCR alignment past there and onwards, elbowing the Aylesbury line over to the east a bit. Again IIRC, the formation doesn't get much, if any wider, but gets 'hard engineering' either side, rather than slowly slumping soil.

 

A new bridge to carry the Oxford-Betchley Line, and an HS2 infrastructure services depot north of the Bletchley line and east of HS2, presumably with rail access from both ...... again IIRC.

Edited January 7, 2020 by Nearholmer

[Edwin_m]

There is a plan of HS2 at Calvert at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/529514/C222-ATK-CV-DPP-020-000009-FPD.pdf

 

Not sure if this is the latest one, as there were so many versions produced and the archiving seems a bit haphazard.  

[lmsforever]

Quainton is the site of a big redirection of roads and the rail centre is being squeezed by the line away from the alignment ,it will pass close to the village.