It does appear to be real news. It may not apply to this section of the route but, if it does, it's not totally unexpected: The balance of benefit, given the value arguments presented to date, appears to me to suggest that alternatives may be brought back to the fore. Some of those alternatives, given that it is the OBR, may not (to put it mildly) be to the liking of people who do not like the current submission.

The strength of value arguments in stakeholder submissions (on the current set or proposals) may be useful in that assessment.