Rachel Reeves backs East West Rail scheme despite fears for bats and newts East West Rail project could be catastrophic for barbastelle bats, Cambridgeshire County Council warns.
Cambridgeshire County Council this month warned of a potentially catastrophic effect on barbastelle bats of the East West Rail project, a new rail link between Oxford and Cambridge.
A rail route backed by chancellor Rachel Reeves – who played down consideration of bats and newts in development – has been fraught with fears it will wipe out bats and their habitats.
In a draft response to a consultation on the scheme, Cambridgeshire County Council said it backed the employment, new housing and better transport links but worried that the development would cause losses to wildlife sites, habitat and species in Wimpole and Eversden Woods.
Designers of the rail project say they have already gone out of their way to rehome bats, creating a bespoke “bat house” for seven species, to replace the old Swanbourne Station building.
