A legal challenge over the Government’s controversial £27 billion road investment plan, including a new major tunnel linking Kent and Essex, is to be heard at the High Court.
In April 2020, the Department for Transport (DfT) set out its Road Investment Strategy 2 for major roads in England from April 2020 to March 2025.
It includes controversial plans for the Lower Thames Crossing linking Kent and Essex.
Highways England's is proposing a new, 14.3-mile road, forming Britain's longest tunnel and aiming to offer an alternative alleviate congestion at the Dartford Crossing.
The motorway would almost double road capacity across the Thames east of London, introducing a 70-miles-per-hour speed limit and "opening up new connections and opportunities" for both sides of the river.
The Transport Action Network (Tan), which supports sustainable transport campaigns, has brought legal action against the DfT claiming the scheme breaches climate and air quality laws.
The group has also accused the DfT of failing to take account of the Paris Agreement, which commits signatories such as the UK to tackle climate change by taking measures to limit global warming to well below 2C.
The legal bid, which will start on Tuesday at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, is expected to last two days.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said the strategy will “create a road network that is safe, reliable and efficient for everyone”.
Tan has previously said its case builds on the Court of Appeal’s ruling in February that the Government failed to take account of its commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change when setting out its support for Heathrow expansion.
Earlier this month the High Court heard a separate challenge from the group Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site (SSWHS), which brought its own action over Mr Shapps’ decision to green-light the £1.7 billion development to overhaul eight miles of the A303, including the two-mile tunnel near Stonehenge.
The go-ahead was given in November despite advice from Planning Inspectorate officials that it would cause “permanent, irreversible harm” to the Unesco World Heritage Site in Wiltshire.
The case before Mr Justice Holgate is expected to last two days with judgment reserved until a later date.
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