PRESS RELEASE

Transport Action Network (TAN) yesterday filed a formal complaint to the regulator of National Highways (NH), the Office for Rail and Road (ORR), about National Highways’ inappropriate attempts to influence the decision making process for the £9bn Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) [1].

Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh, has a critical decision to make this Friday, 4 October, as the deadline approaches for deciding whether to grant the Development Consent Order (DCO) for the scheme, or to postpone it. Despite the 6-month long examination into the DCO finishing just nine months ago, National Highways has recently made new and unevidenced claims about the scheme’s benefits [2], and undertaken a PR campaign at public expense [3]. NH’s new claims contradict and potentially undermine its evidence submitted to the DCO examination.

The six complaints [4] include:

1. National Highways is attempting to interfere with and undermine the democratic decision making process for the Lower Thames Crossing DCO.
2. National Highways is contradicting the evidence it submitted to the Lower Thames Crossing DCO examination.
3. National Highways is making unsubstantiated, unevidenced and misleading claims.
4. National Highways, a Government owned company, is using public funds to lobby Government in pursuit of its own aims.
5. In making these new, unevidenced claims, National Highways is not following government guidance or policy.
6. National Highways is not acting in a transparent manner, contrary to its Licence and the conclusions of the recent ORR investigation.

Chris Todd, director of Transport Action Network, said:

“This outrageous behaviour by National Highways smacks of desperation. It must realise that while things are bad at Dartford its so called solution simply does not add up. If it did, there would be no reason for it to resort to its fantasy economics. It would not need to be plucking figures out of thin air to try and bolster its case.

“As a government company it is wasting public funds trying to influence the decision. We believe that this is an abuse of its position and are asking ORR to look into this. We’re also calling for National Highways to be forced to publish its assumptions and workings behind its economic case, not just for the Lower Thames Crossing, but for all schemes. All too often it is keeping this information secret and subverting the democratic scrutiny of its proposals.”

– ENDS –

Notes to Editors

[1] TAN’s ORR complaint, 30 September, 2024

[2] National Highways have recently published a promotional brochure that has inflated the claimed wider economic benefits of LTC to £40 billion and claims Dartford congestion costs £200 million a year, without providing the methodology or evidence for these claims. TAN has submitted a freedom of information request for the background data and methodology for NH’s new and unevidenced claims for the LTC.

[3] TAN has submitted a freedom of information request for the costs of the Parliamentary reception, and the presentations given by NH.

[4] These are summaries. The full complaints can be found in the letter to ORR.

[5] TAN has published an independent expert report by Dr Colin Black on the failings of the LTC DCO application.

[6] TAN’s lawyers, Leigh Day, have recently written to the Secretary of State warning that granting the DCO planning permission could potentially be unlawful if private finance is being considered for the scheme as it would invalidate much of the evidence submitted to the DCO examination. A copy of this letter is available on request.