East West Rail funding agreement with Bedford council 'currently being renegotiated'
East West Rail and Bedford Borough Council are renegotiating its formal funding agreement.
But East West Rail (EWR) has clarified that a formal funding agreement with Bedford Borough Council has been in place since July 2025 – and admitted earlier information may have led to a misunderstanding about whether a final agreement was in place.
The clarification follows a Freedom of Information response issued earlier this month, which said a “draft” Planning Performance Agreement (PPA) was in place while negotiations continued on a final version.
In a follow-up response, EWR said that explanation “could have been clearer” and may have wrongly implied no agreement was in place. It confirmed that a signed PPA has existed since July 2025, but is currently being renegotiated at the council’s request.
A copy of the agreement released to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) shows it was formally signed in July 2025.
EWR said this document has been released in the interests of transparency.
The agreement sets out how the council supports the Development Consent Order (DCO) process for the Oxford–Cambridge railway.
The document confirms the council is reimbursed for work on the project through agreed “works orders” rather than a fixed upfront payment.
EWR said the existing agreement continues to apply while revised terms are negotiated, but that it was not possible to say when a new version would be agreed, adding that it is committed to complete re-negotiations “as soon as possible”.
It also confirmed that agreements with councils along the route are broadly based on the same principles, but vary to reflect local requirements.