Will Reeves shine green light on Lower Thames Crossing?
SPECULATION is growing that chancellor Rachel Reeves will include an announcement about the future of the hugely controversial Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) in her infrastructure speech today (Wednesday, 29 January).
The chancellor is due to make a number of infrastructure announcements, including a statement on a third runway for Heathrow.
She is reportedly also boosting the area between Oxford and Cambridge with a 'silicon valley' style series of tech developments.
But another headline-maker as she seeks to kick-start the UK economy may be a move to revive the LTC plan which has been mothballed since a delay in announcing whether planning permission would be granted.
That may involve an announcement about a private finance initiative, hinted in a Thurrock Nub News story in August last year.
It suggested the Treasury was investigating if private investment can help deliver the estimated £9 to £10 billion Thames Lower Crossing project that would create a new road linking the M25 and M2 with a tunnel near Tilbury and a dual carriageway road driven through Thurrock's green belt.
The plan has long been opposed by Thurrock Council and other campaigning organisations including the Thames Crossing Action Group which said a PFI model would only work if the crossing was profitable -which they have doubted.
Matt Jackson, of the Thames Crossing Action Group, said the group has pointed to a 2022 report that listed the project as 'poor' on the Department of Transport's 'Value for Money' ratings. A later adjusted rating still only gave the project a 'low' value for money score.
Mr Jackson said: "If you were a business would you be willing to spend a pound and have 48p to show for it? Would any sensible business invest with such a poor return?
"It's a shame the government have not kicked the LTC into the long grass when other rail-based options exist to remove freight from 'all our roads' not just the M25 and Dartford crossing. We also have Gateway Tramlink (Kenex) which shows huge potential connecting people to work – who may not own a car. "
Focus on the need for a new crossing came earlier this week following the latest crash at the Dartford crossing, which caused massive delays for half a day.
However, LTC critics say statistics show that the new crossing would not alleviate problems at Dartford much, and any benefit would quickly be swallowed up by the projected growth in road traffic.
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