Lower Thames Crossing to give major jobs boost to 22,000 people in Kent and Essex
Published
27 Jan 2021
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Delivery of the country’s largest road scheme since the M25 was built 35 years ago, will support 10,000 jobs in the peak year of construction. Over the six-year building phase, it will employ more than 22,000 people, ranging from highly skilled engineers, architects, and designers, to other essential staff such as caterers, sign makers and IT support.
The proposed new crossing under the Thames will almost double road capacity between Kent and Essex, ease congestion across the region, and divert over 13 million vehicles away from the Dartford Crossing each year.
"We will create hundreds of apprentices and places for graduates and are offering free training to local businesses to help them work on this project"Matt Palmer, Lower Thames Crossing Executive Director
We are also developing a skills, employment and education strategy that will enable the delivery of the crossing as well as support the long-term skills and employment needs of the local community. You can find out more here.
We have worked with Local Authorities and our stakeholders to understand their aspirations and the local skills market, so they can cultivate a workforce that can support these plans. This strategy will be published later this spring.
Matt Palmer, Lower Thames Crossing Executive Director, said:
“By connecting people to jobs and businesses to customers, the Lower Thames Crossing will add billions to the local economy and play an important part in the Government's plan to level up the UK. But it also has a more urgent and crucial role to play in our economic recovery by employing more than 22,000 people over the lifetime of its construction.
"Our aim to create local jobs, support local businesses, and nurture the next generation of talent, and in partnership with our contractors we have ambitious plans. We will create hundreds of apprentices and places for graduates and are offering free training to local businesses to help them work on this, or any other major infrastructure project. The scale of opportunity is huge, and I look forward sharing more detail on our approach and plans over the next few months.”
"As the largest road scheme in more than three decades, it would be hard to overstate the monumental impact the Lower Thames Crossing will have on the region"Kate Willard OBE, Thames Estuary Envoy
Kate Willard OBE, Thames Estuary Envoy, said:
“As the largest road scheme in more than three decades, it would be hard to overstate the monumental impact the Lower Thames Crossing will have on the region. I am delighted that local people and businesses in the Thames Estuary are being given the opportunity to work on this transformative project.”
South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) Chair Christian Brodie said:
“Not only will this transformative project bring major employers in to the SELEP area, but it will also provide a range of opportunities for the South East's SME community in terms of supply chain and service contracts. We are confident that these benefits will be particularly felt through the business communities adjacent to the crossing and will work with Highways England and our partner organisations in ensuring that this is the case.
The project is at the stage where it will resubmit the its application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to the Planning Inspectorate. This follows many years of design development and a record-breaking programme of consultation during which we received over 90,000 responses.
Highways England initially submitted its DCO application back in October 2020. It then withdrew the application to provide more information on certain aspects of the project. The fundamentals of the project haven’t changed, the Planning Inspectorate has asked for more technical information and Highway England will also be sharing further information with local stakeholders.
For further information contact us at info@lowerthamescrossing.co.uk or by calling 0300 123 5000. You can also get the latest updates on Facebook and Twitter.
