Transport (CSR)

Jackie Doyle-Price Excerpts

Thursday 25th November 2010 Westminster Hall

[Jackie Doyle-Price (Thurrock) (Con)]

It is a great pleasure to contribute to this debate, because I represent a constituency that is at the heart of the logistics sector and for which the transport infrastructure and its efficiency is essential.

At a time when the public purse is under such pressure, the Government’s determination to protect spending on transport infrastructure should be commended. I congratulate my colleagues on securing what was, in the end, a good settlement for the Department. However, the pot of money is finite and a number of road projects have had to be shelved. Naturally, I understand the need for that, but I am mindful of the overall need to encourage growth in our economy so that we can repair the state of our finances. The Government have made the wrong call in respect of the proposed improvements at junction 30 of the M25, which have been postponed. This is not a parochial point, for reasons that I will explain.

The M25 is by far the busiest stretch of road in our country. It is also a vital element of our national road infrastructure and an essential artery for the lifeblood of our economy. It was therefore essential that the Government proceeded with the widening of the M25, recognising that too long had been spent talking about that project but not enough had been said about its delivery. The Government have shelved planned improvements to junction 30 until later than 2015, which will cause disadvantage not only to my constituents, but to the business community across south Essex and to UK plc.

For colleagues who do not appreciate the geography of my constituency, let me quickly explain. Thurrock is adjacent to London. The M25 runs through the western part of my constituency and joins the Dartford crossing, which the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Martin Horwood) mentioned and which starts southbound at Purfleet. The A13 is the main arterial road, running from London through the borough of Thurrock and intersecting with the M25 at junction 30. Junction 30 is also adjacent to 31, which is where the M25 intersects with the old A13.

[Mr James Gray (in the Chair)]

Order. I apologise for interrupting the hon. Lady, but can I ask her to keep her comments to the CSR as it affects public transport? Of course, almost any transport project is affected by the CSR, and I understand that, but perhaps her points could be general rather than particular.

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

Thank you, Mr Gray. I have come to the end of the geographical comments. The point is that junction 30 is the place where so much traffic is impeded. It serves the Lakeside shopping centre and the port of Tilbury, which obviously needs access to transport goods around the country. About 92% of people travelling to the Lakeside shopping centre by car use that junction, and hon. Members will understand the impact of that volume of traffic. The traffic often spills on to the local road network and causes congestion, as well as going on to the M25 and, of course, the Dartford crossing.

We have a considerable number of local businesses which, as I mentioned, have an impact on UK plc. We must tackle junction 30 to enable south Essex to grow and business opportunities to expand. If I may crave your indulgence, Mr Gray, I will give two examples: the supply of Fairy liquid for the whole of Europe is made in my constituency, as is every jar of Hellmann’s mayonnaise. That needs to be transported around the country, and one can see the importance of West Thurrock as an industrial hub.

I have spoken with local businesses about the impact of junction 30 and congestion at the Dartford crossing on their business. Carpetright has its corporate headquarters at West Thurrock; 80% of the carpets that it supplies to the nation are cut on that site, generating £212 million. It told me that there are 3,500 lorry movements a year, which will have to attack the M25 via junction 30. It also estimates that 100 man hours a week are lost in traffic delays. Charles Gee, a local haulage firm, concludes that congestion around junction 30 and the Dartford crossing increases its fuel costs by £35,000 a year. That is the overall picture. I firmly believe that the congestion at junction 30, where the M25, the Dartford crossing and the A13 intersect, causes serious problems for local businesses and inhibits their opportunities to grow.

[Barbara Keeley]

The hon. Lady makes a strong case about junction 30 of the M25. Does she find it as puzzling as I do that, to take two congested stretches, the scheme that she mentions is shelved and does not go ahead, despite the strong case that she makes, but the totally unwanted scheme—the additional lane on the M60 that local people do not want at all—is to go ahead? I would generously offer up our scheme for the one that the hon. Lady wants.

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

I hope that the Minister was listening to the hon. Lady; I was struck by what she said. When I hear the business community in my constituency crying out for increased local investment and telling me that their biggest concern is the poor transport infrastructure, I am sure that such a plan would be welcome. It would be interesting to know why such a conclusion has been reached.

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mrs Theresa Villiers)]

Let me set the record straight after the comments made by the hon. Member for Worsley and Eccles South (Barbara Keeley). The project under discussion has not been “shelved”; it is in the programme that we hope to take forward post-2015. There has been a postponement, but not a cancellation.

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

I am grateful to the Minister. The point is that for my business constituents, the improvements cannot come soon enough. That brings me to the point raised by the hon. Member for Cheltenham about the Dartford tunnel. As I said, we are at the northbound point of the Dartford crossing. There is light at the end of the tunnel for the funding of improvements to junction 30, and that is the Dartford tunnel. As the hon. Gentleman said, the CSR proposed a 66% increase in tolls, and there is a lot of local anger about that. The deal was for the tolls to be cancelled once the crossing had been funded, but we have long passed that point. Having said that, my constituents are really quite hacked off with the number of times that they get caught on the local road network, and they would take it on the chin if the tolls were increased as long as they got something out of the deal. If we are looking at where funding from that increase in tolls is to be spent, I hope that my corner of south Essex gets its fair share.

Let me re-emphasise the need to invest in improvements to junction 30. I would also like to see the proposals in the CSR for an additional crossing brought forward sooner rather than later. The congestion on the M25, and the crossing in particular, have been neglected for far too many years. We must have a consensus on where an additional crossing should be constructed. As we know, traffic volume continues to grow exponentially and we are always playing catch-up with such things. I understand that revenues will be hypothecated for transport investment, and my plea is for Thurrock and south Essex to be looked on favourably. That would be good not only for my constituents but for UK plc and the businesses that I have mentioned.