THE impact of the proposed Lower Thames Crossing on public health may not have been adequately assessed and those at risk not consulted enough, members of Thurrock's crossing task force will be told next week.

An independent review of the Health and Equalities Impact Assessment, compiled for the task force which next meets on Monday, 12 July, questions whether assessments of health risks and mitigation to lessen the risks have been 'robust' enough.

Consultant Stantec UK was appointed by a number of councils, including Thurrock and Southend, to look at the quality of the Health and Equalities Impact Assessment prepared by Highways England for the crossing.

Stantec had discussions about the assessment with technical experts about air quality, noise and vibration, transport, stakeholder consultation, climate change, land contamination and flood risk and drainage.

The review concluded Highways England's assessment "does not fully meet the best practice requirements of the guidance".

A report said "a number of concerns have been raised with the source documents" such as a transport assessment, and it was also unclear whether health impacts could be "mitigated against".

Looking at whether residents had the opportunity to participate in a decision affecting their health and well-being, Sentec said: "There are concerns regarding the statutory consultation that has been undertaken, including the accessibility of the consultation events and material, including the impact of Covid-19.

"There is a lack of detail provided in relation to how vulnerable and hard to reach groups have been engaged and the outcomes of discussions which makes it unclear if all groups have had sufficient opportunity to comment."

Earlier this year the British Lung Foundation said Thurrock was among the most polluted areas in the country.

The charity said Thurrock had 67 nurseries, schools and colleges in areas where levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are above the World Health Organisation-recommended limit of 20 micrograms per cubic metre.

Despite the negative report, Matt Palmer, executive director of the Lower Thames Crossing project, said: "The Lower Thames is the most ambitious road scheme in a generation. Not only will it improve journeys, it will improve air quality across the region and create hundreds of hectares of new public space that we know is so important to the health and wellbeing of local communities and wildlife.

"We have undertaken extensive and robust assessments of the impact of the project including health impacts, and shared these with the public and local authorities through the most comprehensive programme of consultation over undertaken for a UK road project. Later this summer we will deliver a further round of consultation and will be sharing updated information on our plans to build and operate the project, and how we propose to reduce the impact on local communities and the environment.

"This will include new images, fly-throughs showing the project during and after construction, and a ward by ward summary of the impacts and mitigations of the project so the public can find the information that is relevant to them."

The report can be viewed via this link.