THURROCK Council’s £80 million bid to widen the A13 between Corringham and Orsett has won the support of a key Boris Johnson aide.
Cllr John Kent, Leader of Thurrock Council, welcomed the support of Sir Edward Lister – Deputy Mayor of London and Chief of Staff to the mayor at a meeting at City Hall in London on Thursday (30 January).
Thurrock has put the £80m scheme forward as part of its bid to the South East Local Economic Partnership’s (SELEP) growth deal.
The meeting, which took place last week, followed Cllr Kent’s letter to the Mayor of London in the autumn after a visit to the London Gateway port.
The purpose of the meeting was to explain the significance of Thurrock’s growth agenda and to get the support of the Mayor for Thurrock’s investment priorities.
Cllr Kent said: “Thurrock’s growth programme will create over 26,000 jobs over the next decade, but as I have said before and lobbied for, it will only be a success if the transport infrastructure is also in place.
“At the meeting with Sir Edward, I stressed how important the widening of the A13 is to support growth at London Gateway, Lakeside and Thames Enterprise Park.
“I also pointed to the exciting potential of strengthening the cultural offer along the riverside in Thurrock stretching east to Southend and west into London.”
Cllr Kent added: “Sir Edward was impressed with the scale of Thurrock’s growth ambitions and recognised the importance of their success to the London economy.
“He has pledged to help Thurrock’s case for the widening of the A13, a key priority that the council is seeking funding for through government and SELEP – the local economic partnership.”
The bid will be submitted in March and negotiations with government will take place over the coming months.
