MUPPETS, MONEY, & MADNESS

So ‘consultants’ employed by Highways England reckon that the Lower Thames Crossing will create 6,000 jobs and an £8 billion boost to the local economy?  There is absolutely no evidence to support this, none whatsoever.  We’ve asked, but no-one can put a finger on what the jobs will be or where the new revenue will come from.  It’s a pure fantasy figure, designed to justify the £6bn cost of the project and the untold cost to the environment. 

So says Bob Lane, spokesman for the Lower Thames Crossing Association, in response to South East Local Enterprise Partnership’s “Robots, Routes, & Revenue” event held in Rainham, Essex today.  He points out that a study of real-life completed road projects, recently published by CPRE, established that these projects actually generate far more traffic than they relieve, they lead to permanent environmental damage, but result in little or none of the promised economic benefits.

“It’s more likely that the extra traffic generated by this crossing will choke existing businesses, as the roads and villages around Gravesend, Thurrock, the Medway Towns, and as far away as Maidstone, become clogged with extra traffic trying to get to and from the new crossing,“ said Bob.

 “SELEP should be exerting their pressure on Highways England to sort out the problems at Dartford,” said Bob.  “The Dartford Crossing from Kent into Essex is a complete and utter disaster area, with traffic brought to a standstill 100 times a day to escort convoys of tankers through the outdated tunnels, and accidents and incidents on the approach roads occurring on an almost daily basis.  Until they have sorted out this bottleneck on the M25 for drivers, businesses, and for the long-suffering people of Dartford, it is sheer madness to even consider putting in another crossing that will do nothing to resolve the problems and do little to relieve the congestion at Dartford.”