Plans for £10billion road are 359,000 pages and 'everything wrong with system'
The UK's longest ever planning application with more than 350,000 pages has been submitted for a £10 billion dual carriageway.
Proposals to build a link road under the River Thames includes 2,838 separate documents. The Lower Thames Crossing would be a new 14.3-mile route between the M2 with the M25 to tackle one of the country's most gridlocked sections of motorway either side of the Dartford Crossing.
There are 359,866 pages in the submitted application for the road that would include a 2.6 mile tunnel under the Thames connecting Kent and Essex. And the sheer length of the planning application has prompted concerns about the planning system.
If every document was printed, the 359,866 pages would weigh around 1,620kg that is more than a Volkswagen Beetle, according to analysis from Britain Remade, a campaign group that promotes economic growth. The group also worked out that it would take around 328 days to read the entire application.
The project has also received criticism from campaigners as National Highways has spent £267million on just the application process in what has been described as “symbolic of what is wrong with our planning system”.
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The final decision on whether the project can go ahead is set to be made within the next six months despite it being in the planning stages since 2009. It wouldn't be open until 2031 at the earliest.
The proposed route (National Highways)Britain Remade slammed the process's spiralling costs which are already at a mind-boggling £800million, with a spokesman saying: “The Lower Thames Crossing's 359,000-page planning application is symbolic of everything wrong with our planning system: it's far too hard to build in Britain Delays and endless bureaucracy mean we can't build the homes, transport links or clean energy projects the country needs.”
The inspectors’ examination reportedly concluded at the end of December and Transport Secretary Mark Harper will receive the recommendation by March 20 on whether or not the project may go ahead. Founder and campaigner Sam Richards said that while the size of the application was “simply insane and totally unjustifiable by any sensible person”, he was still in favour of it.
He told the Times: “There is an unquestionable need for the Lower Thames Crossing, not only will it cut congestion at the Dartford Crossing, it will also improve air quality.” The planning documents will be mulled over on the eve of the 10-year anniversary of the Dartford Crossing's toll booths being demolished.
Despite payments for the crossing now being made online, removing the need to stop and pay manually at booths, the motorway either side of the crossing is still plagued by congestion almost daily. “With 40% of traffic on the Dartford Crossing freight heading to our most important ports, the lack of capacity is strangling off economic growth," Mr Richards added, reported the Express.
“The Lower Thames Crossing is symbolic of what is wrong with our planning system. From applications that are taller than eight double-decker buses to having to go through multiple rounds of consultation over many years, currently it’s simply far too difficult and takes far too long to get anything built in Britain."
Mark Bottomley, the Lower Thames Crossing Development Director, said: “The Lower Thames Crossing will provide a vital new transport route to help grow the UK economy and improve the journeys of millions of people every year by tackling congestion on the Dartford Crossing.
"We understand that for many the new road is needed urgently and the length of time which goes into the planning can be frustrating. However, it is vital that a project of the size and complexity of the Lower Thames Crossing goes through a rigorous, democratic planning process that makes sure we take every opportunity to maximise the benefits and reduce the impact on local communities and the environment.
“The planning process and our comprehensive programme of consultation and engagement has ensured the views of local communities and stakeholders have been incorporated into our design and we’ve made improvements such as placing 80 percent of the road below ground level, replanning our works to take thousands of lorries off the roads during construction and amending our plans to enable the Thames Freeport to be developed.
"The detailed examination of the project finished in December, and the government's team of independent planning experts are currently writing their recommendation so the government can make a decision this summer.”
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