The consultation on design refinements to the Lower Thames Crossing is now open, until 23.59 on 12 August 2020.

We are proposing a number of refinements to the design of the project following feedback received from earlier consultations, discussions with local stakeholders, ongoing design development and new technical data.
 
Your feedback is vital in shaping the scheme and will help us develop our application for a Development Consent Order (DCO).
 
Find out more

Online consultation
Our proposals are available to view on our dedicated consultation website until 23.59 on 12 August 2020.
You will be able visit our online exhibition, where you can explore an interactive map, watch videos explaining the proposals, as well as download the consultation documents.

Home delivery
This service is available to all members of the public, who can request materials here, by calling 0300 123 5000 or emailing us at info@lowerthamescrossing.co.uk.
 
Telephone Surgery
We've now launched our telephone call back service where a member of the project team who will answer your questions on the proposed changes.

Anyone can book an appointment here or by calling 0300 123 5000 (calls to us will be charged at a local rate, call backs will be free of charge). Call backs will be made Monday to Friday, 12pm to 7pm, until 12 August 2020.
 
Webinars
We are hosting four webinars – two focussed on changes north of the river and two for changes south of the river. These webinars are open to all members of the public. The project team will talk you through the proposed refinements and attendees will be able to post questions to the designers.
South of the River:

• 20 July, starting 7pm
• 30 July, starting 7pm

North of the River:

• 21 July, starting 7pm
• 29 July, starting 7pm

You can register for the webinars on our consultation website.


How to have your say

You can submit a response by using one of the methods below. Please note, we cannot guarantee that responses sent by any other means will be considered.

Online response form
Fill in the online response form.

Freepost
Post your response form or comments to:
FREEPOST LTC CONSULTATION
(The Freepost address is the only text needed on the envelope, and no stamp is required.)

Email
Email your comments to: LTC.CONSULTATION@TRAVERSE.LTD

Telephone
To book an appointment to speak to someone who can help you fill out a form over the phone, please call us on 0300 123 5000.

​Essential Works
In line with government advice, our highway maintenance works are vital in keeping roads open, key workers and emergency services moving, deliveries flowing, and safeguarding the provision of utility services to support the NHS, local communities, homes and businesses. Kent County Council is prioritising essential works to enable a fully functioning network, ensuring that life-saving medicine, equipment, supplies and healthcare staff can travel across the country to where they are needed most, whilst considering the risk to both our workforce and the public.
We take the wellbeing of the public and our workforce extremely seriously, and please be assured we have put in place all mitigating measures necessary to abide by the guidance currently in place.
We ask that whilst works are ongoing that you do not approach the workforce and if you have any enquiries regarding these are raised through the Kent County Council contact centre on 03000 41 81 81 Mon to Fri 09:00 to 17:00. For the safety of both you and our workforce please do not approach our workforce on site.
When we plan to carry out the work and how long it will take
This is to let you know that, as part of the on-going maintenance and improvement of the highway network, Kent County Council will be resurfacing Sole Street between the junction of Jeskyns Road and Camer Road.
These road surface improvement works are programmed to start on the 10th August 2020 and should take 16 days (excluding weekends) to complete. These activities will be undertaken between the hours of 09:00 and 17:00 each day. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and uncertainty there is a risk these works could be cancelled at any time.
This type of work can be affected by bad weather, so if it is not possible for us to carry it out at this time, we will arrange a new date and let you know via a letter drop to your home. We will also put up signs along the road, before we start, showing the date we plan to start work.
During these essential works it will be necessary to close the road completely so that we can carry out the works safely for both the workforce and road users. The diversion route will be via Camer Road, Green Lane, A227 Wrotham Road, A2 Eastbound, Henhurst Road, Jeskyns Road and Vice versa.
What we plan to do
We will remove the existing road surface by a method known as milling. The complete area will then be swept by a mechanical sweeper to ensure the prepared surface is clean and free of dust and debris. If required, the existing manhole covers, and rain water gully gratings will be adjusted or replaced to the correct level before the new surface is laid. Please note that this operation is noisy and can be prolonged as it is carried out using pneumatic hand tools.
The new surfacing material will then be laid using a machine called a paver and compacted with a roller. This is a quick process and dependant on the design will either be a one or two-layer process. Finally, following completion of the surfacing, all associated road markings will be re-painted. The road will then be re-opened. Please note that during the whole process, audible warning reversing sirens will be heard along with flashing beacons; this is a health and safety requirement and cannot be turned off but will be kept to a minimum.

We want your views on some refinements to the design of the Lower Thames Crossing
​Consultation is open from 00.01 14 July to 23.59 12 August 2020.

We are proposing a number of refinements to the design of the project following feedback received from earlier consultations, discussions with local stakeholders, ongoing design development and new technical data.

They include:

• minor changes to elements of the highways design
• updated paths for walkers, cyclists and horse riders
• proposals for redirecting and upgrading utilities
• more detailed landscaping proposals
• further developed ecological mitigation measures

The feedback from this consultation will help Highways England develop its application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) planned for submission later this year.

Find out more

Online consultation
Our proposals will be available to view on our dedicated consultation website, available from 00.01 on 14 July 2020.
You will also be able to explore maps and visit our online exhibition.

Home delivery
If you do not have access to the internet or experience problems downloading the consultation materials, we can send one printed copy of the guide to consultation, a response form and Freepost return envelope, maps, and other documents directly to your home.
You can request materials here, or by calling 0300 123 5000 or emailing us at info@lowerthamescrossing.co.uk.

Telephone Surgery
You can book a call back from a member of the project team who will answer your questions on the proposed changes. Call backs will be made Monday to Friday, 12pm to 7pm, between 14 July and 12 August.
You can book an appointment from 14 July here or by calling 0300 123 5000.

How to have your say

From 14 July you can submit a response by using one of the methods below, which are all free to use. Please note, we cannot guarantee that responses sent by any other means will be considered.

Online response form
Fill in the online response form.

Freepost
Post your response form or comments to:
FREEPOST LTC CONSULTATION
(The Freepost address is the only text needed on the envelope, and no stamp is required.)

Email
Email your comments to: LTC.CONSULTATION@TRAVERSE.LTD

Telephone
To book an appointment to speak to someone who can help you fill out a form over the phone, please call us on 0300 123 5000.

To give us feedback please fill out the Traffic Survey here (closes 30th June 2020)

Dear Neighbour,
 
This is an update on the work your Parish Council (CPC), your Borough Cllr Tony Rice and KCC Cllr Bryan Sweetland, have been doing to address the unacceptable traffic problems in our villages. In particular, we draw your attention to a specialist traffic consultant’s report that CPC have commissioned to bring some action to the many years of concern we have all expressed. 
 
What work has been going on?
When the new Parish Council was formed in 2019, Chairman Mike Booth established a Traffic Working Group with a 4 year plan to resolve the traffic problems through The Street and Sole Street. This followed the CPC investment in 2018 in a traffic monitoring device, put in place to gather the facts, by counting vehicle volumes and speeds. You may have seen this at various points in Sole Street and Cobham indicating your speed. With facts and figures in hand and after meetings with KCC (the highways authority), early in 2020 CPC commissioned the traffic consultant to analyse the evidence and recommend some feasible solutions.  
 
The consultant’s report
The report is nearly 100 pages long, technical in nature and a written for discussion with KCC. Four potential solution options are suggested, these may not be the only ones, but they are there to start a meaningful dialogue with KCC. On the next page we have summarised the key points, but you can find the full report online here
  
What next?
Nothing permanent is going to happen without formal consultation with residents. We are not yet at that stage. The purpose of sharing the report now, is for you to voice your initial reaction, so that we can engage with KCC in a way that reflects the range of opinion in our villages. 
 
Please read the summary and/or full report. There are two ways that you can raise questions, or share your views. Either contact one of the people below, and/or complete a short survey available here 
 
Who can I contact?
Residents can contact:

• Email Tony Rice at tony.rice@gravesham.gov.uk, or call 01474 815306 or 07802 162443
  
• E,ail Matt Mason at matthew.mason@cobham-kent-pc.gov.uk or call 07768 028370  
  

 
IF YOU WISH TO PROVIDE AN OPINION, PLEASE DO SO BY 30TH JUNE 2020. To give us feedback please fill out the Traffic Survey here
 
What then?
Nothing will happen until the post CV19 ‘new normal’ has developed. We don’t know yet whether traffic will increase further, or decrease. We will also discuss the report with KCC to explore the options and initial residents’ views. At that point we anticipate a formal public consultation on the preferred option. If there is overwhelming support for one of the options, KCC will then work with us on modelling local implications, how it can be implemented and funded. This will almost certainly require a local government decision, which will take into account support and objections that may be submitted by individuals, other communities nearby, or public services requiring access through our villages. (Fire, Police etc). 
 
We look forward to receiving your views, please note it is essential that we get significant input from a large number of parishioners, not just those that live on the two streets effected. These are your villages.  
 
 
A Short Summary of the Consultant’s Report 
 
The Problems Identified

• Due to queuing and delays on the A2, Cobham and Sole Street are badly affected by traffic rat running between the A2 and A227 and vice versa.
• Traffic on the A2 continues to increase year on year (8%), yet rat run traffic through the two villages is growing disproportionately faster (37%) • They are carrying 5 to 6 times  the national average for their road type (C Roads)
• The national average is 1,230 on a normal weekday, whereas Cobham carries nearly 6,000 and Sole Street over 7,000
• In the peak hour period, Cobham experiences 600 vehicles on average, with 800 going through Sole Street, but the volumes soar even higher when the A2 is at a standstill
• The Street, Cobham is far from an average C Road width, because at its narrowest it is only 4.2m and 2way traffic cannot pass safely
• Where 0 is bad and 5 is good, the villages score 0 for volume on the ‘Rate My Road’ scale 

 
Safety and Wellbeing Implications for Residents

• Pedestrian safety is a significant concern in both villages
• There are no footways for a large section of road either side of Sole Street and the narrow road width in The Street forces pedestrians and vehicles to compete for space
• There is a detrimental impact on the historic character of Cobham and the day-to-day amenity in the village 

 
Potential Future Options
Four options are submitted for discussion, ranging from low to high in terms of impact on the problem, intrusiveness and cost: 

1. Gateway Features - To give drivers the sense that they are crossing a threshold into a village community, in the hope it deters bad driver behaviours
2. Access Only - Restricting access to Cobham for residents and those accessing facilities, such as pubs, shops and school. This will require the police to enforce.
3. One-way - Make The Street and Sole Street one way in the northbound/eastbound direction. This will eliminate all traffic rat running from A2 to A227.
4. No Through Road - Closure of Cobham with a road block feature near the Darnley Arms 

 
Please note that Traffic Lights have been discounted due to adverse local impact of pollution and queuing traffic. 
 
Each option will have differing advantages and disadvantages, depending on where you live in Cobham or Sole Street, so please take some time to reflect on the report and let us have your initial views by completing the short survey via the link above, or contact Tony or Matt using the contact details above. – Thank you!