Apologies were received from Laura Blake (Thames Crossing Action Group Representative); Westley Mercer (Thurrock Business Board Representative), and Peter Ward (Business Representative.

Councillor Fraser Massey was nominated and voted as Chair of the Lower Thames Crossing Task Force for the 2021/22 municipal year.

Councillor John Kent was nominated and voted as Vice-Chair of the Lower Thames Crossing Task Force for the 2021/22 municipal year.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Lower Thames Crossing Task Force meeting held on 15 March 2021.

The minutes from the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) Task Force meeting held on 15 March 2021 were approved as a true and correct record.

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.

There were no items of urgent business.

There were no interests declared.

The Senior Consultant introduced the report and stated that it had been sent to Highways England (HE) in November 2020, and had been published on the Council’s website on 24 February 2021. He explained that since then, nine meetings had been held between HE and Thurrock Council to discuss the 57 mitigation items. He stated that they were split into three groups: 23 direct mitigation measures, for example future proofing and construction impact; 12 council-led support mitigation measures; and 24 legacy mitigation measures, which included the A13 trunking, East Facing Slips, the Asda roundabout, 5G provision on bridges, and the Tilbury loop line bridge. The Senior Consultant confirmed the HE had not agreed to 6 measures, and some of the remaining measures, such as the East Facing Slips access required high-level political intervention. He stated that the rest of the measures were still being discussed and that there had been some agreement on lower order matters, but discussion on bigger ticket items had been slow. He stated that Thurrock Council, including the Portfolio Holder, continued to meet with HE and the Department for Transport to discuss these mitigation measures.

The Senior Consultant then explained that only some measures could be agreed before Development Consent Order (DCO) submission, and some measures would need to be agreed later in the process, for example during the Examination phase. He explained that the Council were working hard to ensure as much mitigation was secured before DCO submission, and an update report outlining the developments of each mitigation measure would be brought before the Task Force later in the year. The Interim Assistant Director of Regeneration and Place Delivery added that there was also currently lots of work being undertaken to understand the finer detail of each mitigation measure, and numerous meetings were underway. 

The Chair thanked the Senior Consultant and Interim Assistant Director of Regeneration and Place Delivery for their presentation, and asked for confirmation of the measures HE would not agree too. The Senior Consultant responded that these included:

1. M8 – construction phase trial initiatives for innovative public transport. He explained that HE had agreed to use electric buses to transport LTC workers, but no other mitigation measures had been agreed.
2. M12 - smart speed limits along the route, which would help control traffic flow and pollutant levels. He stated that although this had been ruled out at this stage, it may be possible to install these later on in the life of the project if required.
3. M18 – Hypothecation of LTC charges. He stated that a similar scheme as the one previously used some 10 years ago on the Dartford Crossing had been suggested, where charges were retained by the Council, but HE had not agreed to this.
4. L3 – Use of alignment of Haul Road to match the Tilbury Link Road scheme. He explained that Haul Road would now be used as part of the Tilbury 2 ‘infrastructure corridor’ and would be utilised along with the private  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Senior Consultant stated that the July Task Force meeting was being held two days before HE’s next round of consultation, and asked if the Task Force would like to invite the HE Executive Director to the meeting to discuss the consultation. He added that an update on the mitigation measures could also be provided at the meeting. The Chair, and the rest of the Task Force, agreed to invite HE to the July Task Force meeting. The Chair stated that he would speak with the Transport Action Network and postpone their presentation to a later date.

Councillor Muldowney also requested an update on the Health Impact Assessment, which would include a copy of the shortcomings letter signed by nine local authorities, as well as the response from HE. The Senior Consultant confirmed that this would be included at the July Task Force meeting as an Update Paper.