Thurrock council leader vows M25 will "not go through his borough" (From Basildon Recorder)
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Thurrock council leader vows M25 will "not go through his borough"
3:28pm Thursday 17th January 2013 in Echo News By Lucy Kirby
A COUNCIL leader has vowed that a new Thames crossing will not run through his borough.
John Kent, Labour leader of Thurrock Council, spoke out after Kent County Council’s director of planning and environment, Paul Crick, said the best option for a new crossing was to cut through the borough’s green belt with a new motorway in West Tilbury and Orsett.
The Department for Transport is expected to launch a consultation on options for a third river crossing, designed to ease congestion at the Dartford Crossing, in May.
Option A would see an additional road built at the existing Dartford Crossing, and the crossing’s tunnels removed from the strategic road network.
Option B is for a new road crossing in the Swanscombe Peninsula area, connecting the A2 near Dartford to the A1089 road, north of Tilbury Docks.
Option C would see a new link created from the East of Gravesend to the M20, and would involve creating a new motorway through the West Tilbury marshes, crossing the A13 at the Orsett Cock, then through green belt land across the Orsett marshes to a new roundabout on the M25 at North Ockendon.
Mr Crick said he believed option c was the Government’s best option.
However, Mr Kent said: “The council is against any further river crossing in Thurrock, and option C would be incredibly damaging, cutting straight through miles of Thurrock’s green belt.
“I was really pleased when the full council unanimously supported my motion against another crossing in Thurrock, and we now need to start building up a strong case against any plans for this.
“We are clear that when the consultation is launched, there must be a fourth option for there to be no new crossing at all.”
When the options were first revealed in 2009, residents in Orsett collected an 891-name strong signature petition against option C.
