No new Thames crossing here
For the second time in three years members of Thurrock Council unanimously agreed they did not wish to see another Thames crossing in the borough.
Thurrock Council Leader, Cllr John Kent, proposed: “This council remains opposed to government plans for a further river crossing in Thurrock and commits to continue campaigning, alongside local residents, on this issue.”
He told embers he wanted to update them on the latest government proposals, and said: “We expect, government will be launching another consultation just after Christmas or early in January.”
The government’s latest proposals are likely to be an Option A – known as Option 1 and close to the existing one – and three (2, 3, and 4) around Option C all crossing the Thames between Tilbury and Coalhouse forts.
Cllr Kent said of the first proposal at Purfleet: “This does nothing to enhance the resilience of either the local or regional road network.
“It would lead to more queues of traffic as it creates pinch-points, on both sides of the river, as six or eight lanes of traffic merge into four.
“This will, inevitably, create additional pollution issues – both air and noise – in an area where pollution is already a significant issue.
“And it guarantees the congestion problems that all too often blight the west of the borough will continue.”
Of the other three, Cllr Kent explained: “Any of these options will put added pressure on the A13 – and Junctions 30/31of the M25 – whether they link with the Dock Approach Road and the A13 itself, the M25 or the A127.
“We also understand that, both because of the width of the river at that point and to allow large ships into the Port of Tilbury the span of any bridge in that part of the borough would be absolutely huge.
“In fact one suggestion is that the height of the bridge up could well be twice as high as current bridge at Purfleet and the support pillars holding it up as high as The Shard.”
He added: “Let’s be clear, any of these three options would do enormous damage to Thurrock’s heritage, dominating the landscape between the two historic forts.
“Any of those three would destroy our Green Belt, some of the best green belt in the borough, by driving a seven mile highway through green fields and fens; have a huge impact on some of our villages, possibly Orsett, Bulphan, West and East Tilbury, and even Horndon-on-the-Hill depending which route is picked.”
Cllr Kent said: “The people of Thurrock have spoken against any further crossings time and again.
“This is the time for us to reassert Thurrock Council’s unanimous opposition to another Thames crossing, anywhere, in Thurrock.”
Film is below.
