Representation by Julia Colley
- Date submitted
- 22 February 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I am strongly opposed to the proposed Lower Thames Crossing. It is clear from looking at capacity figures that it would not solve the problems suffered due to the Dartford Crossing. Furthermore there is a lack of adequate connections, especially when there are incidents, which currently occur regularly on the existing crossing. I also have safety concerns since the proposed LTC would be a ‘Smart’ Motorway by stealth. The environment will be severely affected with a huge increase in carbon emissions (around 6.6 million tonnes). Since the original proposals the estimated cost has significantly increased - this is a waste of over £10bn of tax payers money, not value for money, false economy as other spending would be needed as direct result. With the current news being full of food shortages in UK supermarkets I am particularly concerned about the loss of and impact to thousands of acres of good quality farmland. The crossing would also destroy and impact woodland (inc ancient woodland), trees (inc ancient/veteran), hedgerows, and our precious greenbelt, with a devastating impact on wildlife and habitat, inc protected species. Local communities would see an increase in air and noise pollution, as the whole route fails on WHO-10 levels for PM2.5. The plans make no provision for cross river active travel, not viable for public transport due to lack of adequate connections. Local communities and homes will be adversely affected both by the new roads and by the disruption caused during construction; my own local area will be completely cut off inside a ‘toxic triangle’ of major roads. (And Thurrock already has one of the highest pollution levels in the country.) And it doesn’t even meet scheme objectives anyway!