As reported in our December 2020 issue, Highways England had to withdraw its planning application for the Lower Thames Crossing after concerns were raised by the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) over the process. The government-owned company said it would 'take time to collate the information required for the specific points raised and will be resubmitting the application early in the new year'.The extensive list of issues raised by PINS covers environmental effects arising from changes to levels of traffic, river traffic and navigation, the Site Waste Management Plan, the Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA), the adequacy of consultation responses, the sufficiency of information, feedback to the consultation, the Landscape and Ecology Management Plan and whether all the necessary people were consulted and in what way. The 14.3-mile project includes two 2.6-mile tunnels, has been through several changes already and the latest estimates suggest it could cost up to ￡8.2bn. It was also hit with criticism after a Freedom of Information request revealed that it is estimated to add over five million tonnes of CO_2 to the UK's carbon emissions... So no pressure then.
展开▼
