PART 1PRELIMINARY

Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the A122 (Lower Thames Crossing) Development Consent Order 2025 and comes into force on 15th April 2025.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Order—

“the 1825 Act” means an Act for dividing and inclosing, and reducing to a Stint and improving certain unenclosed Commons and Waste Grounds and Fens, within the Manor and Parish of Orsett in the County of Essex(1)

“the 1961 Act” means the Land Compensation Act 1961(2);

“the 1965 Act” means the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965(3);

“the 1968 Act” means the Port of London Act 1968(4);

“the 1980 Act” means the Highways Act 1980(5);

“the 1981 Act” means the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981(6);

“the 1984 Act” means the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984(7);

“the 1990 Act” means the Town and Country Planning Act 1990(8);

“the 1991 Act” means the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991(9);

“the 2000 Act” means the Transport Act 2000(10);

“the 2004 Act” means the Traffic Management Act 2004(11);

“the 2008 Act” means the Planning Act 2008;

“the 2017 Regulations” means the Compulsory Purchase of Land (Vesting Declarations) (England) Regulations 2017(12);

“access” includes passing and repassing with or without plant and vehicles and accessing land in the Order land from streets or other parts of Order land;

“address” includes any number or address for the purpose of electronic transmission;

“affected person” has the same meaning as in section 59(4) (notice of persons interested in land to which compulsory acquisition request relates) of the 2008 Act;

“apparatus” has the same meaning as in Part 3 (street works in England and Wales) of the 1991 Act;

“authorised development” means the development described in Part 1 (authorised works) of Schedule 1 (authorised development) and any other development authorised by this Order, or any part of it, which is development within the meaning of section 32 (meaning of “development”) of the 2008 Act;

“authorised person” means–

“begin” means beginning to carry out any material operation (as defined in section 56(4) (time when development begun) of the 1990 Act) forming part of the authorised development including preliminary works (as defined in Schedule 2 to this Order), and “begun” and “beginning” are to be construed accordingly;

“the book of reference” means the document of that description listed in Schedule 16 (documents to be certified) and certified by the Secretary of State as the book of reference for the purposes of this Order;

“bridleway” has the same meaning as in section 329(1) (further provision as to interpretation) of the 1980 Act;

“building” includes any structure or erection or any part of a building, structure or erection;

“business day” means a day other than Saturday or Sunday which is not Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday under section 1 (bank holidays)(15) of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971;

“carriageway” has the same meaning as in section 329(1) of the 1980 Act;

“the classification of roads plans” means the document of that description listed in Schedule 16 (documents to be certified) and certified by the Secretary of State as the classification of roads plan for the purposes of this Order;

“the Crown land plans” means the document of that description listed in Schedule 16 (documents to be certified) and certified by the Secretary of State as the Crown land plans for the purposes of this Order;

“cycle track” has the same meaning as in section 329(1)(16) of the 1980 Act;

“electronic transmission” means a communication transmitted—

and in this definition “electronic communications network” has the same meaning as in section 32(1) (meaning of electronic communications networks and services)(17) of the Communications Act 2003;

“the engineering drawings and sections” means the document of that description listed in Schedule 16 certified by the Secretary of State as the engineering drawings and sections for the purposes of this Order;

“environmental statement” means—

“flood risk activity” has the same meaning as in regulation 2 (interpretation: general) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016(18);

“footway” and “footpath” have the same meaning as in section 329(1) of the 1980 Act;

“highway” has the same meaning as in section 328(1) (meaning of “highway”) of the 1980 Act;

“highway authority” and “local highway authority” (respectively) have the same meaning as in sections 1(19) (highway authorities: general provision) and 329(1) of the 1980 Act;

“horse-riding track” means a way constituting or comprised in a highway, being a way over which the public have the following, but no other, rights of way, that is to say on horseback or leading a horse;

“the land plans” means the document of that description listed in Schedule 16 (documents to be certified) and certified by the Secretary of State as the land plans for the purposes of this Order;

“limits of deviation” means the limits of deviation referred to in article 6 (limits of deviation);

“maintain” includes, in relation any part of the authorised development to, inspect, repair, adjust, alter, improve, landscape, preserve, remove, reconstruct, refurbish or replace, provided such works do not give rise to any materially new or materially different environmental effects to those identified in the environmental statement, and any derivative of “maintain” is to be construed accordingly;

“MMO” means the Marine Management Organisation;

“Order land” means the land shown on the land plans which is within the limits of land to be acquired permanently or used permanently or temporarily, and described in the book of reference;

“the Order limits” means the limits of lands to be acquired permanently or used permanently or temporarily as shown on the land plans and works plans within which the authorised development may be carried out;

“outline LEMP” means the outline landscape and ecology management plan listed in Schedule 16 (documents to be certified) and certified by the Secretary of State, and which is the first iteration of the landscape and ecology management plan;

“overhead lines” includes associated apparatus which is installed for the purposes of its maintenance or operation;

“owner”—

“permit scheme” means any scheme made under Part 3 of the 2004 Act in force at the date on which this Order is made;

“PLA” means the Port of London Authority;

“relevant local highway authority” means in any given provision of this Order, the highway authority for the area to which the provision relates;

“relevant planning authority” means in any given provision of this Order, the planning authority for the area to which the provision relates;

“relevant traffic authority” means in any given provision of this Order, the traffic authority for the area to which the provision relates;

“rights of way and access plans” means the document of that description listed in Schedule 16 (documents to be certified) and certified by the Secretary of State as the rights of way and access plans for the purposes of this Order;

“river restrictions plan” means the document of that description listed in Schedule 16 (documents to be certified) and certified by the Secretary of State as the river restrictions plan for the purposes of this Order;

“SACR” mean the Stakeholder Actions and Commitments Register referred to in article 61 (SACR);

“the special category land plans” means the document of that description listed in Schedule 16 (documents to be certified) and certified by the Secretary of State as the special category land plans for the purposes of this Order;

“special road” has the same meaning as in section 329(1)(22) of the 1980 Act;

“statutory undertaker” means any statutory undertaker for the purposes of section 127(8) (statutory undertakers’ land) of the 2008 Act;

“street” means a street within the meaning of section 48(23) (streets, street works and undertakers) of the 1991 Act, together with land on the verge of a street or between two carriageways, and includes part of a street;

“street authority”, in relation to a street, has the same meaning as in section 49 (the street authority and other relevant authorities) of the 1991 Act;

“streets subject to temporary restrictions of use plans” means the document of that description listed in Schedule 16 (documents to be certified) and certified by the Secretary of State as the streets subject to temporary restrictions of use plans for the purposes of this Order;

“traffic authority” has the same meaning as in section 121A (traffic authorities)(24) of the 1984 Act;

“traffic officer” means an individual designated under section 2 (designation of traffic officers) of the 2004 Act;

“the traffic regulation measures plans” means the document of that description listed in Schedule 16 (documents to be certified) and certified by the Secretary of State as the traffic regulation measures plans for the purposes of this Order;

“the tribunal” means the Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal;

“trunk road” means a highway which is a trunk road by virtue of—

“the tunnel area plan” means the plan of that description listed in Schedule 16 (documents to be certified) and certified by the Secretary of State as the tunnel area plan for the purposes of this Order;

“the tunnel” means the tunnel to be constructed under the river Thames and shown as a solid blue line on the tunnel area plan;

“the tunnel approaches” means the southern and northern approaches to the tunnel between the barrier gantries and the portals, the extent of which is shown by dashed blue lines on the tunnel area plan;

“the tunnel area” means the extent of the public highway to be comprised in and along the tunnels and the tunnel approaches;

“tunnel limits of deviation plans” means the document of that description listed in Schedule 16 (documents to be certified) and certified by the Secretary of State as the tunnel limits of deviation plans for the purposes of this Order;

“undertaker” means National Highways Limited (Company No. 09346363) whose registered office is at Bridge House, 1 Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 4LZ;

“watercourse” includes all rivers, streams, ditches, drains, canals, cuts, culverts, dykes, sluices, winterbournes, sewers and passages through which water flows except a public sewer or drain; and

“the works plans” means the document of that description listed in Schedule 16 (documents to be certified) and certified by the Secretary of State as the works plans for the purposes of this Order.

(2) References in this Order to rights over land include references to rights to do, or to place and maintain, anything in, on or under land or in the airspace above its surface and references in this Order to the imposition of restrictive covenants are references to the creation of rights over land which interfere with the interests or rights of another and are for the benefit of land which is acquired under this Order or is otherwise comprised in the Order land.

(3) All distances, directions and lengths referred to in this Order are approximate and distances between points on a work comprised in the authorised development are taken to be measured along that work.

(4) References in this Order to the creation and acquisition of rights over land includes references to rights to oblige a party having an interest in land to grant those rights referenced in the Order, at the direction of the undertaker, either—

(a)to an affected person directly, where that person’s land or rights over land have been adversely affected by this Order, and, where that is the case, the rights referenced in the Order are to be granted for the benefit of the land in which that affected person has an interest at the time of the making of this Order; or

(b)to any statutory undertaker for the purposes of their undertaking.

(5) For the purposes of this Order, all areas described in square metres in the book of reference are approximate.

(6) References in this Order to points identified by letters or numbers are to be construed as references to points so lettered or numbered on the plans to which the reference relates.

(7) References in this Order to numbered works are references to works as numbered in Schedule 1 (authorised development).

(8) References to any registered company listed in article 8 (consent to transfer benefit of Order) includes that body’s or that company’s successor bodies from time to time.

(9) In this Order, the expression “includes” is to be construed without limitation.

(10) In this Order, references to materially new or materially different environmental effects in comparison with those reported in the environmental statement must not be construed so as to include the avoidance, removal or reduction of an adverse environmental effect or positive environmental effect, or the increase of an assessed positive environmental effect, that was reported in the environmental statement as a result of the authorised development.