Latest news with #LowerThamesCrossing
Powys County Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Powys County Times
Transport Secretary to draw ‘line in the sand' over HS2 as she reveals failings
The Transport Secretary is set to lift the lid on the lack of oversight that contributed to the spiralling costs of HS2. Heidi Alexander will tell the Commons on Wednesday that she is drawing a 'line in the sand' over the beleaguered rail project, as the Government attempts to reset how major infrastructure is delivered. Ministers plan to learn from the mistakes of HS2 so that they do a better job when it comes to projects like Northern Powerhouse Rail and the Lower Thames Crossing, it is understood. 'HS2 has made Britain a laughing stock in terms of its ability to deliver big infrastructure projects, and it has to end. This will set out the way we will do that,' a Government source told the PA news agency. The result of two reviews into HS2 are expected to be announced alongside the Transport Secretary's statement. The first of these is an interim report by Mark Wild, the chief executive of HS2, who was appointed late last year. He will assess the construction of the project's first phase from London to Birmingham. A second, wider review into the governance and accountability of HS2, led by James Stewart, will also report back. This is expected to set out what has gone wrong with the project, and what ministers can learn for future infrastructure projects. As she addresses MPs, the Transport Secretary is expected to address allegations of fraud by contractors to HS2 which have emerged recently. Earlier this week, it emerged HS2 Ltd reported a sub-contractor working on the rail line to HMRC following an internal probe. During the statement, Ms Alexander is also set to announce a new chair of HS2. The current chair, Sir Jon Thompson, previously announced he would stand down in the spring of this year. His replacement will be Mike Brown, according to The Daily Telegraph newspaper. Mr Brown is the former commissioner for Transport for London, who helped to oversee the deliver of Crossrail, the transport project which became London's Elizabeth Line. HS2 was originally due to run between London and Birmingham, then onto Manchester and Leeds, but the project was severely curtailed by the Conservatives in power due to spiralling costs.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Transport Secretary to draw ‘line in the sand' over HS2 as she reveals failings
The Transport Secretary is set to lift the lid on the lack of oversight that contributed to the spiralling costs of HS2. Heidi Alexander will tell the Commons on Wednesday that she is drawing a 'line in the sand' over the beleaguered rail project, as the Government attempts to reset how major infrastructure is delivered. Ministers plan to learn from the mistakes of HS2 so that they do a better job when it comes to projects like Northern Powerhouse Rail and the Lower Thames Crossing, it is understood. 'HS2 has made Britain a laughing stock in terms of its ability to deliver big infrastructure projects, and it has to end. This will set out the way we will do that,' a Government source told the PA news agency. The result of two reviews into HS2 are expected to be announced alongside the Transport Secretary's statement. The first of these is an interim report by Mark Wild, the chief executive of HS2, who was appointed late last year. He will assess the construction of the project's first phase from London to Birmingham. A second, wider review into the governance and accountability of HS2, led by James Stewart, will also report back. This is expected to set out what has gone wrong with the project, and what ministers can learn for future infrastructure projects. As she addresses MPs, the Transport Secretary is expected to address allegations of fraud by contractors to HS2 which have emerged recently. Earlier this week, it emerged HS2 Ltd reported a sub-contractor working on the rail line to HMRC following an internal probe. During the statement, Ms Alexander is also set to announce a new chair of HS2. The current chair, Sir Jon Thompson, previously announced he would stand down in the spring of this year. His replacement will be Mike Brown, according to The Daily Telegraph newspaper. Mr Brown is the former commissioner for Transport for London, who helped to oversee the deliver of Crossrail, the transport project which became London's Elizabeth Line. HS2 was originally due to run between London and Birmingham, then onto Manchester and Leeds, but the project was severely curtailed by the Conservatives in power due to spiralling costs. Concerns about the costs of the stunted project have persisted, with £100 million spent on a bat tunnel aimed at mitigating the railway's environmental impact singled out by Sir Keir Starmer for criticism.
The Sun
16-06-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Cringe moment Treasury minister has NO idea how much new £10bn tunnel costs or where it is while announcing it on TV
A TREASURY minister appeared to have a meltdown live on TV today, blaming a series of blunders on a "very early morning". Emma Reynolds was being interviewed about the new £10billion Lower Thames Crossing which will link Essex and Kent. 6 6 6 But as she was grilled live on LBC, she forgot where the project is taking place. On top of that blunder in the car-crash interview, she couldn't remember how much it is going to cost either. Frantically leafing through her papers, she asked the LBC interviewer to "forgive" her for not being able to "recall" the key details. Reynolds also appeared to confuse the Devon town of Dartmouth with Dartford in Kent. Appearing on LBC Radio, the bumbling minister said: "I meant Dartford, excuse me, I had a very early morning. "You'll forgive me, I can't recall the landing zone." Presenter Nick Ferrari then asked critically: "So the crossing that you're talking about, you don't know where it is?" She went on to vaguely say it would connect the North with "key ports" in the South East. Ferrari then took it upon himself to inform Reynolds that the project will see two tunnels constructed under the Thames to the east of Tilbury in Essex and Gravesend in Kent. When he pressed her on the cost of building the crossing, she again resorted to vague statements. She floundered: "It's going to cost quite a lot of money, several billion pounds." The presenter savagely asked: "You don't know that either, do you?' "Is there much point continuing this conversation because you don't know where a bridge starts, where it ends and you don't know how much it costs?" Rachel Reeves called the project a "turning point for our national infrastructure". The £9.2billion project will comprise more than 14 miles of roads, and the Transport Secretary gave formal approval in March. Heidi Alexander said the "crucial" project has been been stuck in "planning limbo for far too long". National Highways will build the crossing, and construction could start as early as next year. It is expected to take between six and eight years to finish. £1.2billion has already been spent on design and planning work. 6 6 6
The Independent
16-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Treasury minister forgets where new Thames crossing is being built – and how much it will cost
A Treasury minister was unable to answer basic questions about a new crossing for the River Thames during a radio interview to highlight the government's decision to commit a further £590 million of public money to the project. The Lower Thames Crossing will link Essex and Kent, but economic secretary Emma Reynolds was unable to say where the crossing will be or how much it will cost. She also mistakenly referred to the existing crossing being the 'Dartmouth tunnel', apparently confusing the Devon town with Dartford, the location of the crossings for traffic across the Thames. 'I meant Dartford, excuse me, I had a very early morning,' the minister told LBC Radio. Asked about the proposed new crossing's location, she said: 'You'll forgive me, I can't recall the landing zone.' The crossing will involve two tunnels under the Thames to the east of Tilbury in Essex and Gravesend in Kent. Pressed on the cost, she said 'it's going to cost quite a lot of money', suggesting it would be 'several billion pounds'. LBC presenter Nick Ferrari was audibly shocked and frustrated, asking Ms Reynolds: 'Is there much point continuing this conversation because you don't know where a bridge starts, where it ends and you don't know how much it costs?' National Highways has estimated the cost will be between £9.2 billion and £10.2 billion depending on the funding model chosen. It would connect the A2 and M2 in Kent to the A13 and M25 in Essex via a 2.6-mile tunnel under the Thames, which would be the UK's longest road tunnel. The funding for the Lower Thames Crossing will be part of the Government's 10-year plan for infrastructure. A new structures fund will also invest in repairing bridges, flyovers, tunnels and other transport infrastructure such as roads. The Lower Thames Crossing is aimed at reducing congestion at Dartford. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has said that the project is 'essential for improving the resilience of a key freight route and is critical to our long-term trade with Europe'. 'It will speed up the movement of goods from south-east England to the Midlands and the north, crucial to thousands of jobs and businesses,' she added. Rachel Reeves has said ministers are 'going all in by going up against the painful disruption of closed bridges, crossings and flyovers'. The Chancellor added: 'This is a turning point for our national infrastructure, and we're backing it with funding to support thousands of jobs and connect communities, delivering on our plan for change.' It comes ahead of the Government's infrastructure strategy, expected this week, while public procurement rules are set to be overhauled so that public bodies will have to give more weight to firms which can prove they will boost British jobs when they are bidding for contracts. The Chancellor outlined a range of infrastructure investments as part of last week's spending review.
Daily Mail
16-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Treasury minister Emma Reynolds suffers live interview meltdown as she has no idea of cost or location of new £10bn River Thames crossing she is announcing
A Treasury minister suffered a meltdown in a live interview today as she struggled to answer basic questions about a new River Thames crossing. Emma Reynolds was announcing a package of infrastructure spending on LBC when the toe-curling moment happened. The £10billion Lower Thames Crossing will link Essex and Kent - but the economic secretary was unable to give the location or the total cost of the project. She also mistakenly referred to the existing crossing being the 'Dartmouth Tunnel', apparently confusing the Devon town with Dartford. 'I meant Dartford, excuse me, I had a very early morning,' the minister told LBC Radio. Asked by presenter Nick Ferrari about the proposed new crossing's location, Ms Reynolds frantically leafed through paperwork. 'You'll forgive me, I can't recall the landing zone,' she said. Ferrari said: 'So the crossing that you're talking about, you don't know where it is?' A floundering Ms Reynolds seeming resorted to reading out some text about how the crossing would connect the North with 'key ports in the South East'. 'It's almost as if you're reading from a piece of paper there, isn't it?' the presenter interjected. Ferrari put the minister out of her misery by informing her that the crossing will involve two tunnels under the Thames to the east of Tilbury in Essex and Gravesend in Kent. Pressed on the cost, an increasingly dejected-looking Ms Reynolds said 'it's going to cost quite a lot of money', suggesting it would be 'several billion pounds'. But a clearly exasperated Ferrari said: 'You don't know that either, do you?' He added: 'Is there much point continuing this conversation because you don't know where a bridge starts, where it ends and you don't know how much it costs?' Ferrari then asked about the Hammersmith Bridge. 'I'm not here to talk about the Hammersmith Bridge. I'm not a transport minister,' Ms Reynolds said. National Highways has estimated the cost will be between £9.2billion and £10.2billion depending on the funding model chosen. It would connect the A2 and M2 in Kent to the A13 and M25 in Essex via a 2.6-mile tunnel under the Thames, which would be the UK's longest road tunnel. The funding for the Lower Thames Crossing will be part of the Government's 10-year plan for infrastructure. A new structures fund will also invest in repairing bridges, flyovers, tunnels and other transport infrastructure such as roads. The Lower Thames Crossing is aimed at reducing congestion at Dartford. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has said that the project is 'essential for improving the resilience of a key freight route and is critical to our long-term trade with Europe'. Pressed on the cost, an increasingly dejected-looking Ms Reynolds said 'it's going to cost quite a lot of money', suggesting it would be 'several billion pounds' 'It will speed up the movement of goods from south-east England to the Midlands and the north, crucial to thousands of jobs and businesses,' she added. Rachel Reeves has said ministers are 'going all in by going up against the painful disruption of closed bridges, crossings and flyovers'. The Chancellor added: 'This is a turning point for our national infrastructure, and we're backing it with funding to support thousands of jobs and connect communities, delivering on our plan for change.' It comes ahead of the Government's infrastructure strategy, expected this week, while public procurement rules are set to be overhauled so that public bodies will have to give more weight to firms which can prove they will boost British jobs when they are bidding for contracts. The Chancellor outlined a range of infrastructure investments as part of last week's spending review.
