Green light from government for Lower Thames Crossing. Work expected to start in 2026 - though funding plans are not yet in place for £10 billion project
THE government has today (Tuesday, 25 March) given planning permission for National Highways' A122 Lower Thames Crossing project.
A decision was not expected until May.
The news came without advance warning to campaign groups and Thurrock Council, who have consistently opposed the crossing plans since they were first mooted more than a decade ago.
The decision follows a lenghy application by National Highways for a Development Consent Order which was heard via a public inquiry. A decision was initially expected last October but was twice delayed.
Despite the constratints of a struggling national budget, the government has decided to press on with the scheme and is currently exploring private finance options for the project.
It says construction could start as early as 2026, with the new road expected to open in the early 2030s.
The Lower Thames Crossing is a 14-mile new A-road that will link the A2 in Kent with the A13 and M25 in Essex through the longest road tunnel in the UK. It will carve through historic green belt land in Thurrock.
The route's supporters claim it will ease congestion at Dartford by almost doubling road capacity across the Thames east of London, and make tens of millions of journeys quicker, safer and more reliable every year. Those claims have been widely disputed by organisations including Thurrock Council - which was made aware of the government's decision by Thurrock Nub news this morning.
Leader, Cllr John Kent, was not aware of the decision or that it was going to be announced, not was Cllr Fraser massey, chair of Thurrock Council's Lower Thames Crossing Task Force.
They are expected to comment shortly.
Matt Palmer, National Highways Executive Director Lower Thames Crossing, said: "The Lower Thames Crossing is one of the UK's most important infrastructure projects. It will unlock growth with quicker, safer, and more reliable journeys and redraw the blueprint for building major projects in a net zero future by scaling up the use low-carbon construction, and leaving a legacy of green spaces, green skills.
"Our plans have been shaped by the local community and refined by robust and rigorous examination from independent experts. We are more committed than ever to working with our neighbours to build the crossing in a way that offers them opportunities to work and learn new skills while reducing impacts. We are shovel ready and have our delivery partners on board, and today's decision allows us to work with government on funding and start the detailed planning that will let us start construction as soon as possible."
The government says that, before main construction gets underway, the project and its three delivery partners will work with local authorities, landowners, and stakeholders to refine aspects of the design to further reduce the impact of construction on the local community and environment, and embed new and emerging low carbon technologies and materials.
Over the coming months they will also carry out archaeological, ecological, and topographical surveys, as well as further ground investigations to prepare the detailed design and construction plans.
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