The Secretary of State for Transport has issued a Safeguarding Direction for East West Rail. This means that if a local authority receives a planning application for a development on land that is within the safeguarding boundary for East West Rail, they must consult us before deciding whether to grant planning permission. That way, we can look at any potential conflicts between other proposed developments and our proposals for East West Rail. It’s important to ‘safeguard’ the land for East West Rail in this way so we can continue to develop the designs for the railway with a clear understanding of what else is planned along the route. Safeguarding the land doesn’t necessarily mean that other development cannot go ahead.
The safeguarding boundary, which you can see on the plans below, mostly follows the anticipated boundary for the East West Rail (known as the draft Order Limits) as shown in the proposals as part of our consultation. The boundary of the Safeguarding Direction is different from the anticipated boundary for the project in areas where we are still considering different design options for the railway, such as the different alignment options for the railway at Tempsford.
Direction & maps
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Safeguarding Direction
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Key Plan Oxford to Bletchley for EWR Safeguarding Maps
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Key Plan Fenny Stratford to Kempston for EWR Safeguarding Maps
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Key Plan Bedford for EWR Safeguarding Maps
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Key Plan Clapham to Colesden for EWR Safeguarding Maps
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Key Plan Roxton to St Neots for EWR Safeguarding Maps
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Key Plan Croxton to Toft for EWR Safeguarding Maps
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Key Plan Comberton to Shelford for EWR Safeguarding Maps
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Key Plan Cambridge for EWR Safeguarding Maps
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EWR Safeguarding Maps
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Safeguarded Area GIS files
What happens if my property is within the safeguarded area?
As well as helping to protect the land needed for our proposals, the Safeguarding Direction also means that statutory blight provisions are available. If you own and occupy a property in the safeguarded area, you may be eligible to serve a blight notice on us asking us to buy your property before we need it to build the railway.
Further information about the Statutory Blight process, including details on who is eligible to apply and statutory compensation that may be available, can be found in our guides below.
Owner-occupiers who are not eligible to serve a Blight Notice may be able to apply under the NTS Property Scheme. Your property does not need to be within the safeguarded area for you to be eligible to apply under the scheme. More information on the Need to Sell Property Scheme is available on our Need to Sell page.
Need to Sell pageDocuments & guides
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Guidance for Local Planning Authorities and Developers on the Safeguarding Directions issued for East West Railway Project
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Guide to Serving a Blight Notice and Selling your Blighted Property
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Summary of the Blight Notice process
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How to sell your property through Statutory Blight
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Blight Notice Information Questionnaire
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Example Blight Notice form for an individual application
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Example Blight Notice form for mortgagees
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Example Blight Notice form for an individual serving a notice on behalf of someone else
Get in touch
If you have any questions about your land and property or Statutory Blight, please contact our specialist Land & Property team. We will be able to talk to you about how East West Rail may affect your land or property and what options are available to you. We can also explain what information we would require from you if you are thinking about asking us to buy your land or property by issuing us with a Statutory Blight Notice. This may help you gather information to consider your next steps and the help you might need to do this.
You can get in touch with us by emailing [email protected], calling 0330 838 7583 or writing to us at Freepost EAST WEST RAIL LAND.
If you have a specific question about serving a blight notice please email [email protected].
If you have a question about the safeguarding and a planning application, please contact [email protected].