East West Rail: more than 6,000 people respond to consultation - here's what they said including concerns over Poets homes demolition

Concerns were raised about the impact of construction, in particular the realignment and reconstruction of major roads and bridges in Bedford, with fears it could cause severe traffic issues and prolonged disruption.

The construction of a viaduct over the River Great Ouse floodplain also raised environmental concerns.

And people were also worried about the demolition of homes in the Poets area, raising questions about compensation for residents affected.

Some responses highlighted an alternative route to the south would avoid the demolition of homes and the need for extensive construction in Bedford.

The consultation, the third of its kind, ran from November 2024 to January 2025, with the aim of sharing plans and gathering feedback on early designs.

You can read the report online here.

But EWR was keen to point out that the report was not intended to include detailed responses to the feedback – which will be published later.

A spokesperson said: “More than 6,000 people responded to this consultation and we’re grateful to everyone who shared their views with us.

“Since our consultation closed, we have been carefully considering all the feedback we received, and that feedback will help inform our final design which we will present at our statutory consultation next year.”

The technical team is now going through the comments in detail with the aim to refine and optimise design proposals. This includes, but is not limited to:

> Refinement of the alignment and height of the railway to reduce the amount of material that may need to be imported or disposed of.

> An evaluation of public rights of way diversions to determine if better ways of maintaining connectivity can be achieved.

> Using the results of the ongoing environmental assessment to further develop mitigation proposals.

> Using updated surveys and the results of traffic and transport modelling data to develop the proposals.

> Using architectural input to key design elements such as stations and viaducts to ensure they fit within their local surroundings.

> Further integration of our proposals with Local Plans and other developments to help design active travel and door-to-door connectivity measures.

Detailed responses to the feedback will be provided in a “You Said, We Did” report which will be published at statutory consultation in 2026.

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