Alliance against road building

 

PRESS RELEASE – 10th January 2006

LOCAL RESIDENTS CHALLENGE £500 MILLION A14 ROAD SCHEME IN HIGH COURT

Cambridgeshire resident Nita Tinn will hear the outcome of a Judicial Review of the £500 million A14 Ellington - Fen Ditton Improvement in Cambridgeshire [1] on Wednesday 11 January 2006 at 2pm in Court 1 at the Royal Courts of Justice [2].

The case was brought on behalf of the A14 Offords Action Group [3] by Offord Cluny resident Nita Tinn. Mrs Tinn, a solicitor, stands to be personally liable for tens of thousands of pounds if the legal action fails, but has taken the step because she feels so strongly that the Highways Agency has not properly consulted villagers along the route.

Residents claim that the route proposed by the Highways Agency is substantially different to the route they were consulted over in 2001 [4], pushes the road 1km closer to the village, and that in 2005 they were simply consulted over whether the scheme should be four or six lanes. They argue there should be further consultation on the route. The new route features a 1.2km long, 13m high viaduct within half a mile of the Offords village, and residents living in Offord, Buckden and Hilton will suffer large increases in traffic noise as well as adverse impact on landscape character.

The case was heard on 20 December 2005 before Mr Justice Bean who postponed his ruling until 11 January 2006.

Mrs Tinn said:


"Even if the judgement goes in our favour, there is no guarantee that the route will be moved back, but at least we will that we have had a fair opportunity to have our say, and to be consulted properly."

Rebecca Lush of anti roads alliance Road Block said:


"Mrs Tinn is extremely brave to bring this legal action against the government for not consulting residents about the route they are proposing. This is an extremely important case which demonstrates that as far as road building is concerned the government is not interested in consulting properly, and will ride rough shod over residents if allowed."

Notes to Editors

[1] http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/4211.aspx for the Highways Agency website for the scheme. The scheme was costed at £543 million in the Stage 2 Scheme Assessment Report.

[2] Royal Courts of Justice, The Strand, London, WC2A 2LL

[3] A14 Offords Action Group website - http://www.offordsa14actiongroup.co.uk/

[4] In 2001 the government initiated the Cambridge to Huntingdon Multi Modal Study (CHUMMS) which recommended a different route.

 

CONTACT:
Mrs Nita Tinn of A14 Offords Action Group on 07801 680155
Rebecca Lush of Road Block on 07854 693067