Ministers have admitted that they wrongly classified the Dartford Crossing as a rural road, meaning that it was left out of pollution reports given to the EU.
The BBC has obtained a letter from Therese Coffey, the minister at environment department Defra responsible for air quality, acknowledging the error.
The Dartford Crossing consists of a tunnel and the QE2 bridge and takes the M25 across the Thames. For historical reasons, it is officially classified as the A282.
Dr Coffey wrote ‘The A282 in Dartford does not appear in the national air quality plan for nitrogen dioxide because it was classified as rural and was, therefore, excluded from Defra's air quality modelling assessment.’
She added that the Department for Transport (DfT), which is responsible for road classification, confirmed the rural status ‘was incorrect’.
However, the DfT told the BBC that Defra had designated the A282 as a rural road.
Dartford Borough Council said it had carried out its own air quality measurements for 15 years and every year found the area around the crossing was above the EU limits for nitrogen dioxide.
It said it passed the data to Defra, but no action was taken.
Cllr Keith Kelly, the council's cabinet member for transport and infrastructure, said the crossing was effectively a ‘motorway running through the middle of our town’ and called the revelation ‘shocking'.
Defra has said it will now include data from the crossing ‘in any future assessments reported to the EU’.
Transport Network approached the DfT and Defra for comment.
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