Lower Thames Crossing - Thurrock Says No to all 3 Options

Dear Residents

Please note the response sent on behalf of all councillors and members of parliament rejecting any new bridge coming through Thurrock. I support this wholeheartedly.

Residents of Thurrock and Chafford in particular have suffered a lot from traffic congestion, pollution and the tolls. We don't want another crossing in this vicinity.

I think a crossing closer to London, e.g. around the Woolwich Ferry area is better.

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Dear Sir

Lower Thames Crossing Consultation

I am writing on behalf of Thurrock Council with our formal response to the Options for a new Lower Thames Crossing in the form of this letter and the attached report.

Our response is informed by the views of residents, businesses and community groups across the whole borough. It has the unanimous support of all councillors of Thurrock Council and includes the views of Thurrock's Members of Parliament, Jackie Doyle-Price and Stephen Metcalf.

As a council we are completely opposed to a new crossing in Thurrock. The report contains our full response and I have highlighted some of the main points of concern below.

There is no doubt about the need to manage capacity and traffic flow, but Thurrock needs investment now to reflect the growth agenda already happening in the borough. This consultation does nothing for the infrastructure needed now to support the creation of 26,000 jobs over the next decade.

The introduction of freeflow tolling must be introduced sooner than the October 2014 date. We also need full investment in Junction 30 and 31. You have to get Junction 30 and 31 right first time - at the moment there is no confidence that the announcement of £150 million for Junction 30 will be anything more than a sticking plaster and we still await sight of any plans for this scheme. Any discussions about an additional crossing must wait until the impacts of these measures are known.

Other options east of Thurrock, considered in 2009, have been too readily discounted from this consultation and should be put back on the table. This is a view endorsed by both Thurrock MPs. By limiting the consultation to the three options demonstrates a lack of strategic thinking about the wider transport network.

Notwithstanding the potential environmental impacts on Thurrock communities related to these schemes, the cost-benefit analysis shows that all of the options offer only marginal value for money, considerably lower value compared to other national infrastructure projects.

All of the options, particularly option C, create an environmental disaster in the borough, one of the most interesting biodiversity locations in the country.

On behalf of Thurrock, I urge you in the strongest terms to think again and drop these plans. Both I and the council's opposition leader would very much like to discuss the matter in more detail with the Minister, at the earliest possible convenience.

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