Representation by Laura Blake
- Date submitted
- 24 February 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I am strongly opposed to the proposed £10billion+ Lower Thames Crossing. We are living in a time of climate emergency, we should not be pushing ahead with projects that are so destructive and harmful. 6.6million tonnes of carbon emissions is not compliant with Net Zero. It would destroy and impact greenbelt, ancient and other woodlands, wildlife and habitats. I do not believe such a project can be mitigated and compensated for, the impact is too huge and unacceptable. People’s homes, businesses, leisure, heritage, communities and more would be lost and impacted. I have serious concerns about the impact of the LTC on health and well-being too, it would not be compliant with the new Environment Act targets. I am concerned about safety since it would be a ‘smart’ motorway by stealth. What is being proposed would not solve the problems at the Dartford Crossing, which would remain over capacity. Not only that but there would not be adequate connections, and the LTC traffic would negatively impact the existing road network. There would be an increase of 50% or more traffic if the LTC goes ahead. There are also not adequate connections to allow traffic to migrate between the two crossings when there are incidents, which would mean more chaos, congestion and pollution. The construction period would be a nightmare and cause harm and disruption. I do not believe that what National Highways are estimating in regard to impacts to the environment is a true representation, I fear it would be worse. I do not believe that the cost is a true representation either, and it does not include all costs that would be associated with works that would be needed as a direct result, if the LTC goes ahead. There are better and more sustainable options that have not been considered. What is being proposed makes no provision for more sustainable travel options. The proposed LTC fails to meet the scheme objectives, and would be a huge waste of money, and a huge cost to our environment and health and well-being. It would just bring negative impacts and no benefits. We need and deserve better. The proposed LTC is not fit for purpose and should be scrapped NOW. With 63k pages of documentation in the application, much of which is information that National Highways have withheld from us all during the consultation stage, I am likely to also make future representations on other things which I may discover.