CAMPAIGNERS worry ‘no villages are out of danger’ despite narrower corridors being published for the potential Oxford to Cambridge expressway.

Three corridors were already being considered for the contentious road, which could boost development between the country’s top two university cities.

Last week county councillors and council leaders on the Oxfordshire Growth Board were shown the narrower corridors for the first time.

But they have failed to allay concerns of a group, backed by 33 parish councils. The Expressway Action Group has called for more of a say on which of the broad corridors will be eventually chosen, ahead of specific routes being drawn up in one.

Peter Rutt, the EAG's coordinator, said: “We have seen the routes and they’re still quite vague.

“We are a little concerned that all three could threaten the flood plain and key wildlife areas.

“It does seem as if no villages are out of danger.”

At the Growth Board last Tuesday, a senior county council manager said Highways England was asking the council for its preference of the three corridors ‘without an evidence base’.

Bev Hindle, the council’s strategic director for communities, said the approach was ‘not particularly helpful’.

Highways England aim to whittle down which corridor it wants to proceed with by July, with options over specific routes in it picked by autumn 2019. The road could be open by 2030.

Matthew Barber, the leader of Vale of White Horse District Council, has written to transport secretary Chris Grayling appealing for more public consultation on the choice of corridor.

He said the council was 'satisfied' with the proposed engagement once the broad corridor has been chosen – but he said there is a 'great concern' people will be unable to give views before that point.