Project update – 2018 consultation and next steps for the Lower Thames Crossing

We’ve published an update on our latest plans and the responses we received during our ten-week statutory consultation, which closed at the end of 2018.

The public consultation on the Lower Thames Crossing received nearly 29,000 detailed responses, with nearly 15,000 people attending a programme of 60 events held over a ten-week period, with hundreds of thousands more engaging with the project online. The responses were detailed and insightful, providing unique perspectives. Many have raised important issues, and these will inform the continued development of the project.

There is significant support for our proposals with more than 80 per cent of respondents supporting the need for a new crossing and 70 per cent supporting the location.

We’re now considering the consultation responses in detail as we continue to improve the design of the project. We’ll also be using the information gathered from our ground investigations programme (which began this month) to ensure that our project is delivered in way that has the smallest possible impact on the nearby communities and environment.

To do this effectively, we will need more time to develop our planning application (Development Consent Order application) which we now plan to submit in summer 2020. This, however, does not impact the target road opening in 2027 as we’ve done more work to our schedule to speed up the construction programme.

The consultation responses were received and analysed by Traverse, an independent company specialising in public consultations. View the Executive Summary of the issues raised during the consultation.