THURROCK Council is planning a public meeting to discuss the two remaining government proposals for the Lower Thames Crossing – Options A and C.
Following the success of the public meeting at Orsett Hall in April which concentrated on Option C, the council is now planning a similar event in the west of the borough – an area which will be heavily affected by both A and C.
The Orsett meeting asked that the council launch an online petition to gauge public support for its position and now Council Leader, Cllr John Kent is calling on more people to do so.
“We’re planning this meeting for the evening of Thursday, 11 September at the Culver Centre in South Ockendon,” said Cllr Kent. “People at the last meeting wanted us to launch the petition and very nearly a thousand have done so.
“Now we want everyone else – those affected by Option A as well as C – to join in and enable us to show the powers that be that we don’t want or need another Thames crossing in Thurrock. Just go to the council’s website, click on ‘travel and transport’ and follow the links.
“This isn’t simply a NIMBY knee-jerk reaction, it’s a well-argued and considered position and one the council has been pushing for over four years now.
“We seem to be slowly winning the argument as the government has agreed to postponed decisions until after its considered the effects of the free-flow tolls which start in October – something we’ve been calling for from the beginning.
“But the danger of the crossing going ahead hasn’t disappeared. Thurrock as a community must unite and keep up the pressure and this meeting is the next step.”
Cllr Kent, who said local MP Jackie Doyle-Price had been invited, added: “In recent months the call for more crossings between here and the City of London has increased and the impact these will have on our roads also need to be considered.
“One option – the Belvedere Bridge at Rainham – for example, is expected to take 800 vehicle movements off the current crossing during its busiest morning hour alone. All these proposals must be looked at and we must also continue asking the government to look at the crossing options to the east; the crossings known as Options D and E.”
Notes
The public meeting at the Culver Centre in Daiglen Drive, South Ockendon will open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start on Thursday, 11 September.
The two Thames crossing options being considered for the crossing are:
Option A – close to the current crossing
Option C – Coming from Kent to land between Coalhouse and Tilbury forts and travelling north towards the Orsett Cock junction of the A13 and on north west to a new junction on the M25 between Junction 30 and 29.
