Representation by Mr Robin Bull
- Date submitted
- 23 February 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I do not believe the proposals will solve the problems suffered due to the Dartford Crossing (the original brief). The proposals will induce demand and increase cross river traffic (around 50%), increasing carbon emissions. There is a lack of adequate connection capacity to the LTC from the existing SRN, especially when there are incidents. I have serious safety concerns since the proposed LTC would be a ‘Smart’ Motorway in all but name. The proposals will create 6.6 million tonnes in carbon emissions and is incompatible with the governments carbon targets. Ever-decreasing benefit/cost ratio meaning the proposals are a waste of over £10bn, it's not value for money. It's a false economy as other spending would be needed as direct result. Loss and impact to thousands of acres of farmland threatening food security. Destruction of and damage to woodland (incl ancient woodland), trees (incl ancient/veteran), hedgerows and greenbelt. Devastating impact on wildlife and habitat, incl protected species. Increase in air and noise pollution, incl on the existing SRN where such pollution has previously been mitigated, undermining past investment. The whole route fails on WHO-10 levels for PM2.5. There is no provision for cross river active travel, and it's not viable for public transport due to lack of adequate connections Destruction and impacts to homes and communities There is too much "greenwashing". New parks are not required where there are existing public rights of way in the countryside. New man-made parks place a maintenance burden on Local Authorities. Concerns about construction impacts. Doesn’t meet scheme objectives, other options that were discounted would offer better value in meeting the original brief. Other options were discounted prematurely, before the details of the design were known. Problems with the design and the cost now mean other options should be revisited. Creation of new constraints to traffic flow (bottlenecks) on the existing SRN e.g. A2.