The Lower Thames Crossing will be the greenest road ever built in the UK - creating six times more green space than road.
Our plans will:
- Create a bigger, better, more joined up ecosystem
- Connect people to the countryside and bring them closer to nature
- Collaborate with expert partners to ensure the long-term professional management of these spaces
We’ll do this by:
- Protecting existing habitats
- Creating new and improved green spaces
- Connecting landscapes and people
Explore our interactive map
Find out how we're leaving a legacy of bigger, better and well connected parks, woodland and new habitats for people, wildlife and plant life
Find out moreProtecting existing habitats
The Lower Thames Crossing is 'green' by design, which means we’ve designed the scheme to minimise impacts and reduce the land we need to deliver the road.
Our plans include:
- Refining the route to avoid homes and protected areas
- Building a tunnel rather than a bridge and extending it to avoid protected wetlands
- Having 80% of the road below ground or behind a cutting or embankment to hide it from view and blend it into the landscape
- Reducing our impact on Ancient Woodland by over 70% by refining the route and our construction plans, and we’re working with our partners to reduce this further
- Building viaducts to protect floodplains
Creating new and improved green spaces
We will create new accessible green spaces and develop a network of well managed habitats that help with connectivity.
Our plans include:
- Over a thousand hectares of semi-natural habitats – six times more green space than road
- Planting one million additional trees across Kent, Thurrock, Essex, Havering and Brentwood
- The creation of 50 new ponds
- Coalhouse Point - a new wetland for migratory birds
- Chalk Park near Gravesend and Tilbury Fields in Thurrock – two new landscaped public parks overlooking the River Thames
- Hole Farm, a 100-hectare community woodland in Brentwood, which will be home to 150,000 trees and include visitor facilities
- Over 12 miles of new species-rich hedgerows
Connecting landscapes and people
Nature is important for health and wellbeing, that’s why we want to leave a legacy for local people as well as for the wildlife and species that call the area home.
Our plans include:
- Seven new green bridges – including Europe’s widest that will improve connectivity for wildlife and people
- Almost 40 miles of new or improved pathways for walkers, cyclers and horse riders to better connect the community with these green spaces
- Engaging with local people to gather their views in the design and function of the new spaces we’re creating and seek volunteering opportunities for local people to get hands-on with nature
- Partnership with experts for long term management of these sites – Forestry England, Natural England, Environment Agency, Essex Wildlife Trust, Buglife, and local experts to name but a few
We're the UKs first carbon neutral infrastructure project, read more about our plans to drive out carbon.
Read our Nature Plan
The Lower Thames Crossing is an infrastructure project creating connection and supporting the economy, as well as a catalyst for ecological renewal
View the full planRead our Sustainability Report
We're designing the Lower Thames Crossing to be the UK’s greenest road ever
View the full report