A CAMPAIGNER hopes residents will be protected from noise and vibrations under the council approval given to a new rail route.

More than 50 residents attended the west area planning committee meeting about the East West Rail scheme on Tuesday.

The scheme is designed to create a new service between Oxford and London Marylebone on an upgraded Oxford to Bicester line.

At the meeting the committee gave Network Rail the go-ahead to start work on the new rail route, approving the Wolvercote section of the scheme. Councillors were satisfied vibrations and noise levels would stay within acceptable limits on the new route despite concerns raised by residents.

They agreed to partially remove planning restrictions in relation to vibrations and noise, but placed extra conditions on Network Rail.

Campaigner Keith Dancey said: “I think they have taken a responsible decision and if it is implemented properly, it should protect residents in the future.

“It should mean that in the future, if train noise and vibrations exceed the limits set by the inspector, that National Rail will have to do something to reduce them.”

Mr Dancey, of Upper Wolvercote, said he had been involved with campaigns about the rail link since 2010, when plans for the project were first submitted to the Department of Transport and known as the Chiltern Railways Evergreen 3 proposal.

He told the meeting that he had worked on government engineering projects, and said that residents living near the rail route were concerned about damage to their homes.

Mr Dancey added: “There are over 90 houses in Upper Wolvercote that have suffered structural damage next to the railway line.

“For fifty of these, the damage was sufficiently severe that they have had to have their foundations underpinned or they have had to have steel inserted into their walls to hold their homes together.”

More than 600 people have signed a petition against the Wolvercote section of the East West link, which was presented to Oxford City Council leader Bob Price earlier this month.

Hundreds of North Oxford residents feared an increase in freight traffic along the route would lead to unacceptable levels of noise and vibration.

They called for more to be done to tackle potential noise and vibration problems, including the introduction of speed limits on stretches of the track.

In her report to the committee, council officer Fiona Bartholemew said: “The two Vibration Schemes of Assessment have been shown to meet the tests set out.

“Both have demonstrated that the required standards set out in the Noise and Vibration Mitigation Policy will be achieved.”