Lower Thames Crossing Design Refinement Consultation - Environmental impacts

Overview

• Section 1: Foreword
• Section 2: Project updates
• Section 3: Design refinements
• Section 3a: Design refinements - South of the river in Kent
• Section 3b: Design refinements - North of the river in Thurrock and Essex
• Section 4: Property and landowners
• Section 5: Environmental impacts
• Section 6: How to have your say
• Section 7: Find out more

Environmental impacts

As part of our statutory consultation in 2018, we produced a Preliminary Environmental Information Report (PEIR). This provided the public, statutory consultees and other stakeholders with preliminary information about the project’s likely significant environmental effects, and the measures being considered to avoid or minimise them.

Earlier this year, we produced an Environmental Impacts Update document, which considered the environmental effects of the changes proposed at our supplementary consultation, compared with those considered in the 2018 PEIR.

For this consultation we are proposing a number of refinements to the Lower Thames Crossing, outlined in preceding sections of this site. Our latest Environmental Impacts Update for this consultation explains the environmental effects associated with the proposed refinements, again compared with those considered in the 2018 PEIR and, where relevant, the 2020 supplementary consultation update.

In the latest Environmental Impacts Update, the expected effects on the following aspects of the environment are considered for the proposed refinements (where applicable), during both construction and operation:

• Air quality
• Noise and vibration
• Cultural heritage
• Landscape and visual
• Biodiversity (terrestrial and marine)
• Road drainage and water environment
• Geology and soils
• Materials and waste
• People and communities
• Climate

The document also explains what we are doing to reduce impacts (mitigation measures) and why.

Next steps

Further assessments and the development of detailed measures to reduce environmental effects are ongoing as part of our Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). These will be reported in the Environmental Statement (ES), which will also be informed by the project’s consideration of consultation responses, and further survey and design work. The ES will be submitted as part of the DCO application later this year.

We are continuing to work with stakeholders and statutory consultees to develop our design.

The Environmental Impacts Update document can be found here. If you do not have access to the internet, please call us on 0300 123 5000 to request a printed consultation pack.

Have your say
To comment on the environmental impacts and how we plan to reduce them, answer questions 3a and 3b in the response form.

Continue to the next section: Section 6: How to have your say

Read more

• Section 1: Foreword
• Section 2: Project updates
• Section 3: Design refinements
• Section 3a: Design refinements - South of the river in Kent
• Section 3b: Design refinements - North of the river in Thurrock and Essex
• Section 4: Property and landowners
• Section 5: Environmental impacts
• Section 6: How to have your say
• Section 7: Find out more