An organisation which drives economic growth in Kent says delays in announcing when and where a Lower Thames Crossing will be built are "unacceptable".

The South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) is to step up pressure on the government to confirm a route and funding.

It had been widely anticipated that Chancellor Philip Hammond would include details of a preferred route and a funding package for the project in his Autumn Statement last month.

However, no announcement was made, and the Lower Thames Crossing was missing from a list of funding for infrastructure projects released by the Department for Transport following the Chancellor’s statement.

SELEP, which champions the economic growth of Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend, Thurrock and East Sussex, has said it is not expecting any announcement this year, and its members have agreed to step up the pressure on MPs, ministers and the government to get the project moving.

It is also enlisting the support of other LEPs from the south of the UK to present a united front to the government.

SELEP chairman Christian Brodie said: “The message from businesses on both sides of the Thames is unequivocal – we need a new crossing and we need it now. The current delay is unacceptable.

“It is short-sighted and shows a lack of ambition for growth when we need it more than ever.

“Businesses in our region overwhelmingly support Highways England’s preferred route east of Gravesend.

“While Gravesend, Southend and Thurrock councils oppose that location, the current inaction is causing delays to their own growth plans, as they cannot produce coherent strategies in an atmosphere of such uncertainty.

“As such, SELEP is united in its view that an alternative to the current bottleneck at the Dartford is urgently needed.”

SELEP’s strategic board decided at its December meeting to bring even more pressure to bear on the government through contact with local MPs and directly with ministers in the Treasury and the Department for Transport, calling for a decision to be taken.

Mr Brodie added: “We need to sit down with the Secretary of State as soon as possible to emphasis the impact their lack of decision is having and understand why they are not acting on the recommendations from Highways England based on the significant consultation earlier this year."