Agenda and minutes
Venue: Council Chamber, Civic Offices, New Road, Grays, Essex, RM17 6SL. View directions
Contact: Lucy Tricker, Democratic Services Officer Email: direct.democracy@thurrock.gov.uk
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Apologies for Absence Minutes: There were no apologies for absence received. |
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To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Lower Thames Crossing Task Force meeting held on 17 September 2018. Minutes: The minutes of the Lower Thames Crossing Task Force meeting held on 17 September 2018 were approved as a correct record. |
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Items of Urgent Business To receive additional items that the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency, in accordance with Section 100B (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972. Minutes: There were no items of urgent business. |
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Declaration of Interests Minutes: There were no interests declared. |
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Election of Vice Chair Minutes: Councillor Gerard Rice was nominated and elected as Vice Chair for the Lower Thames Crossing Task Force for this municipal year. |
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Verbal Update: A13/A1089 Traffic Movement Update Minutes: The Transportation Development Manager described how at the last Task Force meeting, additional information regarding traffic movement had been requested. He informed the Task Force that the transport team had then gone away and researched traffic flows for 2017 and 2030, including new proposed housing developments around the borough. He stated that the transportation team had predicted an increase in traffic across the borough, but predictions did not include traffic for the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC), as this was not possible until after the Statutory Consultation had finished. Laura Blake, the Thames Crossing Action Group Representative, questioned how recent changes to the LTC design including the removal of the Tilbury link road, would affect the traffic flow predictions. The Transportation Development Manager confirmed that the models did not include traffic from the LTC, so could not confirm. |
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Verbal Update: East Facing Slip Roads Minutes: The Transportation Development
Manager began by stating how East Facing Slip roads had been an
aspiration of the Task Force since its inception, which would help
eastbound traffic at the junction of the A126/A13 at Lakeside. He
mentioned that at the recent Conservative Party Conference, it was
announced that funding had been allocated for East Facing Slips;
and this was due to Thurrock Council’s funding submission to
the Department of Transport. He continued by stating that the
scheme would be delivered between 18 months-2 years of construction
commencement, and although construction would cause issues it would
be beneficial in the long run. Councillor Kelly then discussed how
the East Facing Slips and the LTC are connected. He debated that if
Highways England had built the A13 correctly in 1986, it would not
be an issue now; and the same problems could face the LTC at the
A126/Baker Street roundabout. |
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Verbal Update: Statutory Consultation Minutes: The Assistant Director for
Lower Thames Crossing opened by informing Members that the
Statutory Consultation had begun on Wednesday 10 October, and would
be continuing until Thursday 20 December. She described how
Highways England were holding a number of public information
events, beginning on 16 October at 2pm-9pm in the Orsett Hall Hotel. She explained that mobile units
would also be travelling around the borough, and the dates for
these were available on the website. It was explained that officers
were working through thousands of pages of documents on the
Statutory Consultation, along with an external consultancy team to
be able to formulate the council’s response. The Chair asked
the Assistant Director for Lower Thames Crossing if Highways
England were going far enough in terms of informing the public. The
Assistant Director for Lower Thames Crossing replied that there
were originally concerns over the number of events, but the number
had been increased through the use of the mobile units. She also
felt that there were issues in understanding the consultation
documents, and felt some members of the public may struggle to
comprehend some of the consultation paperwork. |
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Presentation by Highways England Minutes: David Manning, the Development
Director began by introducing the other Highways England
representatives who were, Gary Hodge: Associate Director; and Chris
Stratford: Lower Thames Crossing – Stakeholder Engagement and
SoCG Advisor. The Highways England
Development Director began by stating the presentation would cover
the changes to the scheme since November 2017. He reiterated that
Statutory Consultation was now open and the first event would be
held on 16 October in Orsett Hall
Hotel, followed by 59 other events. He explained that the event at
Orsett Hall Hotel would be very busy,
but 46 members of Highways England staff would be there to assist
residents and answer questions. |
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Task Force Priorities List PDF 64 KB Minutes: The Corporate Director Place stated that these questions had been bought back to the Task Force as they had not been on the agenda recently. He stated the priorities list had been turned into the mitigation schedule, which would be used a baseline for issues which had been discussed for example, visual impact, the Tilbury railway line, and the impact on the local road network. Councillor Kelly stated he was glad to see these back on the agenda, even though they were outdated now and some questions had been answered. The Chair discussed that the questions would come back to November’s Task Force meeting, so they could be improved and additional comments made. |
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Minutes: It was agreed that the mitigation schedule would be added to November’s Task Force meeting. |
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Any Other Business Minutes: It was confirmed there was no other business. |