Highways England (now known as National Highways) were inviting views on the Lower Thames Crossing, a proposed new motorway connecting Essex and Kent through a tunnel beneath the River Thames to provide additional road capacity. A Community Impacts Consultation had been launched following previous consultations. This preceded the expected submission of a Development Consent Order application for the scheme.

After a full discussion, Cllr Poppy MOVED and Cllr Pearson SECONDED the recommendations in the report. A vote was taken and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY.

Members are asked to:

R1. Approve the response to the Lower Thames Crossing Community Impacts Consultation, as set out in Appendix A; and

R2. Approve delegated powers to the Corporate Manager (Planning Development Management) as part of the Development Consent Order (DCO) process.

Reasons for Recommendation

It was recommended that the issues set out in Appendix A be issued in response to the Lower Thames Crossing Community Impacts Consultation. The Council had engaged with National Highways on the Lower Thames Crossing project to date. It was proposed that issues raised in previous consultation responses were maintained where relevant and/or unresolved.

Once National Highways commence the Development Consent Order (DCO) process there would be strict deadlines to adhere to, often with challenging timeframes. Once submitted the Council’s Planning Development Management Team would be responsible for considering the scheme and responding to the Planning Inspectorate. In light of the timeframes, it is recommended that the Corporate Manager for Planning Development Management be delegated authority to determine the DCO process. Updates on progress will be brought to Members when relevant.