Gravesham councillor Bob Lane has criticised the borough council for "meekly accepting" proposals under the revised Lower Thames Crossing scheme and failing to properly oppose the plans.

This week Gravesham council vowed to challenge Highways England over its plans to build a £6.8bn road link between Kent and Essex, and criticised the environmental damage of the 14.5mile project.

Council leader Cllr John Burden (Lab) said the updated proposals – including the removal of ancient woodland at Shorne Woods Country Park – were "unacceptable" following a cabinet meeting at Gravesend Civic Centre, but Cllr Lane (Con) said the opposition did not go far enough.

Cllr Lane, who is member for Shorne, Cobham and Luddesdown Ward, and spokesman for the campaign group Abridge2far, has been heavily involved in pressing for changes to the scheme since 2013, and said the people most affected were being ignored.

“One of my reasons for being elected to the borough council was to exert some influence on Gravesham’s approach to the Lower Thames Crossing, to make sure the voices of my constituents in Shorne, Cobham, and Luddesdown and the 860 members of Abridge2far were heard and taken into account," he said.

"Instead I have been sidelined. This should not be a political issue. Recognising that the Labour Group has no councillors in the areas most adversely affected by the proposed crossing, I proposed to my Labour counterparts that we should create a cross-party group within the council, so that all parts of the borough were properly represented.

"Despite receiving an encouraging initial response and being asked to draft terms of reference, nothing further was heard, and the Conservative Group was ignored.”

“The council’s response meekly accepts Highways England’s proposal to remove direct access from Valley Drive to the A2 eastbound, and to cut off direct access from Shorne to the M2.

"It objects to Highways England’s proposal to create a landscaped park at Chalk, not because it is a convenient dumping ground for excavated soil that will destroy productive farmland, but because it may ‘compromise the future planning and delivery of development in the area’.

He added: "In addition, Gravesham council calls for Highways England to reassess the current proposal against what it calls 'reasonable alternatives’, including resurrecting the Eastern Southern Link through Shorne. This is despite the fact that this option was abandoned after the 2016 consultation.

“It is a sad state of affairs when councillors who represent the areas most affected by the Lower Thames Crossing are not consulted, and the voices of the residents most affected are ignored."

Responding to the accusations, Cllr John Burden said the administration had "worked closely with colleagues across the political divide in composing our response to the Lower Thames Crossing supplementary consultation to ensure it reflects the very real concerns and fears of our residents and businesses."

He added: “Unfortunately, the timings of our response being finalised and submitted coincided with the introduction of early measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 and the resulting decision to suspend council meetings, meaning these could not be discussed in that arena.

“The Leader of the Conservative group on the council, Cllr Jordan Meade, was fully aware of the position we have adopted, was in agreement with our response and supports our views on the project.

“I respect completely the fact that Cllr Lane has the best interests of his constituents at heart, as do we. But we must also take a wider, strategic view, and look at the effects on the borough as a whole.

“The threats to the health, safety and well-being of local people posed by the proposals as they stand is paramount in our thinking.

“That is reflected in the response as submitted.”

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