Representation by Susan Hammock
- Date submitted
- 23 February 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I last submitted consultation comments in September 2021 and my concerns still hold true today. Benefit - I do not agree that a crossing in this location would ease congestion at Dartford. The A2 already struggles to cope with local traffic between Gravesend and Dartford, especially given the huge increase in local housing developments. A journey of less than 10 miles to Darent Valley Hospital has been known to take over an hour! "Greenest road ever built in the UK" - how to substantiate that? investigative works have already shown a lack of consideration for existing green areas and in my opinion increased pollution cannot be avoided, particularly during construction. Cost - Can the cost/benefit be justified and is it affordable? I don't know what the current expected costs are but certainly would be way beyond the huge initial figure quoted. We are living in very difficult economic times when best use of funds needs to be carefully examined. Marshland - living on Lower Higham Road, Chalk, we are very aware of flooding on the areas of marshland which has been seen over the years. Concerns about continuing development on marshland are still expressed locally and I now see from plans that yet more water from the southern tunnel compound is to be discharged during construction across the marshland. Yet more water on already waterlogged areas!