DESPITE not even having yet applied for a Development Consent Order, nor got government approval, Highways England appears to be pressing ahead at full steam with its plans to drive a new road through Thurrock as part of the planned Lower Thames crossing.

With extensive ground works already in place across the proposed route - all part of 'exploratory work' - residents in Thurrock have expressed scepticism about the veracity of a recent consultation process - which largely damned the route - and the whole ethos of public accountability.

Those concerns will not be assuaged by the fact Highways England is now briefing potential contractors and is planning a virtual supplier briefing next week.

On its website the agency says: "The Lower Thames Crossing is part of the biggest investment in the country's road network for a generation and an essential component in the UK's future transport infrastructure.

"We are looking to use a supply chain with local SMEs at the core and are putting in place initiatives to help SMEs get in the best possible shape to win work on the project.

"This virtual event will:

• Inform local businesses about the project, its development and next steps

• Set out priorities the project is setting for its supply chain

"Help create a toxic triangle that will still leave the Dartford Crossing over capacity, and is not fit for purpose"

The agency received more than 1,000 response to its latest consultation and Shaun Pidcock, Project Director, for the Lower Thames Crossing, said: "We'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to visit our online exhibition, attending our webinars, speaking to us over the phone and emailing and writing to us with feedback. Your responses will help shape this transformative project to maximise its benefits.

"We'll continue to work with businesses, communities and local authorities to develop the design and maximise opportunities to unlock economic growth and improve access to leisure, retail and job opportunities.

"Now our design refinement consultation has closed, we are hard at work analysing the responses. These will inform the plans for our planning application, known as a Development Consent Order (DCO) application, to be submitted later this year."

Part of the DCO application will be a Consultation Report, explaining how the issues raised during the consultations were considered and responded to.