Representation by Kelly Tolhurst MP (Kelly Tolhurst MP)
- Date submitted
- 21 February 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to put forward my views as an interested party and as Member of Parliament for Rochester and Strood. While I recognise the pressures on the current Thames Crossing and the need to alleviate these, I cannot support the proposals as they stand. The current plans do not go far enough to consider the impact that the Lower Thames Crossing will have on the already congested road network in and around the Medway towns. The fact that the crossing would lead on to an already regularly congested section of the A2 – without significant plans to upgrade it – will lead to greater congestion on what is a vital artery for the South East and national economy. We cannot be left with a situation where the problems currently affecting the A2 are pushed further into the already pressured towns and villages of Medway and Gravesham. The Crossing will only push further traffic into the most dense part of Kent where our road networks are under huge strain. I and other MPs have previously asked what modelling has been undertaken to see how the crossing will affect our local roads and I have not seen any reassuring modelling. Before the construction of the LTC we need to see some significant improvements to nearby road infrastructure – something that I have been advised previously will not be able to happen until several years after the LTC has opened and we are able to see what the impact is on other road networks. There is also a lack of consideration of the proposed increase of housing across North Kent, with around 30,000 homes planned for Medway alone, with most targeted around the Peninsula. Similarly, there is evidently no strategic thought around the additional air pollution that will come with extra traffic and congestion in an already impacted area, nor the environmental impacts on the ground. For instance, it is sad that the tunnel and link road east of Gravesend will destroy some of the area’s most beautiful natural spaces and farmland across North Kent. It is unfortunate that the affect this will have on our community that will be an afterthought and I would urge greater consideration towards the impact this will have on the surrounding road network, to which we need to see significant improvements before the LTC goes ahead, not after. Kind regards, Kelly