A REVIEW of plans for National Highways’ Lower Thames Crossing is set to start this month, unless a request for a delay from an opposing council is approved reports Construction News
In a submission to the Planning Inspectorate, Thurrock Council has asked for more time to analyse the application documents and complete its local impact report and other documents.
The Essex council contends that continuing with the current timetable would place the council at an “unfair disadvantage”, adding that the project will affect “approximately 10 per cent of the borough’s total land area and Thurrock’s community would be affected by approximately 70 per cent of the scheme impacts”.
The first preliminary meeting of the Planning Inspectorate’s pre-examination phase was held last week (6 June). If the council’s delay request is rejected, the official examination will begin after the second preliminary meeting on 20 June.
At the first preliminary meeting, Dartford Council’s principal transport planner Lukman Agboola said: “The good news is that things are now in motion, and the examining authority has been appointed.”
He added that the timetable for the first “open floor hearing” was set to start on 20 June and run until December.
If the start date is delayed, Agboola said the start of works could be pushed back from 2026 to 2027.
“Thurrock are asking for a delay in the start of the hearing, and they are supported by some other authorities as well, although most people would like the hearing to carry on,” he said. “Apart from the usual suspects – which are Thurrock and Gravesham – most people actually want this project.”
The Lower Thames Crossing is a proposed road crossing the Thames Estuary, east of the existing Dartford Crossing. In January, the UK’s largest contractor Balfour Beatty won a £1.2bn package to build roads as part of the megaproject. It is still awaiting development consent, with National Highways conceding earlier this year that it needs new technology to achieve its climate goals for the project.
The project was delayed by two years in March by transport secretary Mark Harper, who said that although the government “remain[s] committed” to the Lower Thames Crossing, the process to get development consent was an opportunity to “consult further to ensure there is an effective and deliverable plan”.
He added: “In order to allow time for this process, and given wider pressures on [the government’s] Road Investment Strategy (RIS), we will look to rephase construction by two years.”
National Highways maintains that the road would reduce traffic on the Dartford Crossing by around 20 per cent.
“National Highways maintains that the road would reduce traffic on the Dartford Crossing by around 20 per cent.”
Yet we’d need to see a reduction of more than 25% to bring the current crossing back below design capacity. The proposed LTC is simply not fit for purpose, would still leave the Dartford Crossing over capacity. it would be hugely destructive and harmful on so many levels. We need and deserve better, and there are better and more sustainable options available. #NoLTC