The future of Britain’s biggest road scheme, the Lower Thames Crossing, has been thrown into fresh uncertainty after ministers delayed the deadline for a decision on whether to go ahead by seven months.
Environmental campaigners welcomed the latest delay to the £9bn road tunnel linking Essex and Kent, but businesses said the move was “deeply concerning”.
The transport secretary, Louise Haigh, was due to sign off a development consent order by last Friday, after receiving the planning inspectors’ recommendation three months ago.
However, Haigh has now issued a written statement announcing a new decision deadline of 21 May 2025, “in order to allow more time for the application to be considered further, including any decisions made as part of the spending review”.
The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has asked ministers to draw up potential spending cuts, despite also pledging to get Britain building more infrastructure.
The Lower Thames Crossing is by far the most expensive planned road scheme, and campaigners have urged Labour to scrap roadbuilding to divert funds into public transport.
The Transport Action Network (TAN) called on Haigh to re-examine objections, saying the area’s needs required a “fresh approach”.
Chris Todd, TAN’s director, said of the crossing: “It fails on all its objectives and would provide only five years’ relief at Dartford, less time than it would take to build. Proceeding with it would be madness.
“The £9bn price tag is just the tip of the iceberg as National Highways has hidden the true costs of a deliverable scheme, which is already more expensive per mile than HS2.”
However, business and road transport users said building the crossing was vital for economic growth.
The Logistics UK chief executive, David Wells, said: “The postponement of the decision is deeply concerning and runs counter to what the new government has said about getting Britain building again.
“The decision will be met with bitter disappointment and frustration by businesses up and down the country. The scheme has already been stuck in the planning stages for over a decade and this further delay will see businesses and consumers continuing to shoulder the financial burden that congestion at the Dartford Crossing costs the UK economy every year in lost productivity.”
Wells said about 40% of journeys using the Dartford Crossing, the only crossing east of London, were vital freight deliveries and two-thirds of northbound journeys took twice as long as they should, costing the UK economy more than £200m a year.
Labour is poised to announce funding for the HS2 high-speed railway to reach Euston station in central London, as urged by the rail industry. Haigh hinted on Tuesday an announcement would come soon. She said: “It certainly would never have made sense to leave it between Old Oak Common and Birmingham.”
