London Road – Final Chance for Feedback

Our very last chance to have a say is NOW! Please take a few moments to send in your feedback to the East West Railway Company using the link that’s at the bottom of this post.

The EWR Consultation closes on Friday 24th January. Please fill in the form to say how you will be affected by closure of the crossing and why it’s vital to keep a crossing for vehicles there. EWR will only consider feedback made in this way or via the hard copy forms from the Library.

Remember, you only need to complete the Bicester to Bletchley section, not the whole form.

IMPORTANT: In question 5a you must select ‘Other’ and you can then write your comments about the need for a vehicle route over London Road in the box.

To go directly to the online form just follow this link ➡️https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/8MJVPW/

THE FIGHT GOES ON…

The next phase of the fight to secure a crossing for vehicles to still be able to use London Road into and out of Bicester has begun. Read on for more details of a TV report, a debate in Parliament and a forthcoming meeting to be held in Langford Village Community Hall.

ITV Meridian South reported live from the location on 11th December 2024 in the evening news. It covered the details and interviewed people about the proposed closure of this busy road route for local residents and visitors to Bicester.

⏯️ You can watch the report from here. 

On the same day, our local MP Calum Miller managed to secure an adjournment debate in the House of Commons (quite an achievement we understand), where a Minister has to come forward and respond.

Carole Hetherington, Chairman of LVCA Chairman, was lucky enough to attend the debate along with Councillor Rachel Mallows and Councillor Frank Ideh.

Carole writes,

“Calum Miller represented the London Road Crossing situation very well and has secured the agreement of Lord Peter Hendy, Minister of Rail at Department of Transport to carry on looking at proposals for a solution for vehicles to continue to use London Road.”

The full debate is on record in Hansard and text be viewed and downloaded by a click here.

⏯️ WATCH from here:-

Finally, a date for the diary.  a  A Public Meeting is being held at Langford Village Community Centre Monday January 6th at 7.30pm to look at the next steps that everyone can be involved with in order to keep up the pressure on the government and East West Rail to bring about a solution for future crossing of the rail line for all in Bicester.

Add to Calendar

Please do come along to the Hall on that evening and spread the word about it to others.

Our picture here shows the Chairman of LVCA, Carole Hetherington (second from right) with Councillor Frank Ideh, the MP for Bicester and Woodstock, Calum Miller, and Councillor Rachel Mallows (also representing the Bicester Transport Action Group).

All travelled to the House of Commons for the adjournment debate and were mentioned during it.

London Road Crossing Latest

The long-awaited announcement from East West Rail appeared to have sealed the fate of the road crossing for vehicles at London Road in Bicester. It will close to traffic at a date yet to be set and no alternative crossing for vehicles will be built.

EWR suggests a new bridge or underpass for pedestrians and cyclists should be built near the existing London Road level crossing and is asking residents to express views on this as part of the consultation now underway and lasting into the early part of 2025.

To view the relevant sections of the consultation report click here

To view the technical report section on London Road crossing click here.

Please leave any comments below or join the conversation on the LVCA facebook page.

ADDED UPDATE:

The East West Railway Company issued a short video on the London Road crossing on 12th December 2024..

First test trains run on East West Rail route

A landmark moment has seen trains travelling on the new rail route between Bicester and Milton Keynes for the very first time.

It happened on Monday 21st October when test journeys were made by both Chiltern Rail and GWR to and from Bicester Village station. When the new line opens for passengers in 2025 there will be a direct service between Bicester Village and Milton Keynes Central. There will be four more trains each hour using the existing London Road level crossing.

Local people who had learned about the first test run turned out to take images as history was being made. We’ve included some of these here in a small gallery.

You’re invited to share your thoughts in the comments box on this post or on the Langford Life facebook page.

Read more about this from Network Rail.

A springtime walking route through Langford and Graven Hill

The new 2024 walking route we posted to our facebook page has proved quite popular so here it is for our website followers and friends who’re up for somewhere else to stroll nearby.

You can walk from any point on the map/route though the marked start (A) and finish point for this one is the postbox at the Peregrine Way and Shearwater Drive junction. Start with a walk down to Jubilee Lake then over to Graven Hill via the Rodney House roundabout and back through the tunnel beneath the A41 and over the London Road to return to Langford again.

To download and print off a copy of the map just click here

OR to download a gtx file for a navigation device or phone app click here

The full distance of the route is around 3.5 miles and so it will take between an hour or two to complete, longer if you choose to stop at one of the two coffee shops, the wine bar or the pub – all of which you’ll be passing. Why not let us know how you get on with a comment here?

Daffodils near the entrance to Graven Hill in late March 2024 (outside of the public access area)

posted by Chris A’Court

Sign up here for Langford Community news by email

Do you know that there are often LVCA e-newsletters for all Langford’s residents? Hundreds of people are already signed up to receive them but if you haven’t yet done so it’s easy to join in by using the link here ➡️ https://bit.ly/lvca_eNews

AGM – Reminder

All Langford Village residents and friends are welcome to attend – there’s no need to register in advance, just come along to the Community Centre Hall for 7.30pm on Monday 3rd October.

LVCA also invites you to catch up with its latest e-Newsletter for all residents and to subscribe for free future editions to be sent direct to your email inbox so that you don’t miss the news.

LVCA AGM 2022

AGM and Autumn 2022 e-Newsletter

Latest news from your Langford Village Community Association

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