Plan for new Thames crossing runs to 359,000 pages

A 15-year attempt to build a motorway east of the Dartford Crossing has become the UK’s biggest ever planning application, running to more than 359,000 pages.

Documents for the Lower Thames Crossing planning application would stretch 66 miles if laid end-to-end — almost five times as long as the road itself. Its fate will be decided in the next six months.

The £10 billion project involves creating a 14.3-mile motorway to relieve congestion on the M25 and improve journeys to and from the main ports in the southeast. The route would run between the A2/M2 in Kent and A13 in Essex, with vehicles going through Britain’s longest road tunnel beneath the Thames.

The work to identify a new Thames crossing goes back to 2009

The planning inspectors’ recommendation on the project is due to be handed to