Concerns about the future impact of the Silvertown Tunnel on traffic, pollution and business in the Canning Town area were raised at a residents’ meeting last night.

Construction isn’t due to begin on the tunnel, which will connect West Silvertown with Greenwich Peninsula, until 2018 and will take two years to complete.

Transport for London (TfL) say it will ease the burden on the Blackwall Tunnel, help to reduce the environmental impact of congestion, improve the resilience of the surrounding road network and support economic and population growth.

A toll charge for drivers is expected to create sufficient revenue to maintain it.

But those against the tunnel, which was given the green light after a two-month long consultation last year, claim it will create pollution and lead to bottlenecks on roads that already struggle with traffic.

Robbie Gordon, meeting organiser, said: “I don’t think people are aware of the impact it’s going to have on the area in terms of traffic and pollution.”

He said his main concern is how traffic will disperse once it exits the tunnel. “What they [TfL] are expecting is that people will go round the roundabout and towards City Airport to go to the Beckton Flyover and on to the A13,” he said.

“But most people will go along Victoria Dock Road. If you are a driver you are going to take the quickest way.”

The meeting was held at Community Links, in Barking Road, Canning Town, to give residents and businesses the opportunity to air their concerns about the impact of the tunnel on the area.

Daniel Lee-Phakoe, who runs a locksmith business in Dock Road, Canning Town said that with five vehicles on the road, the toll cost could be detrimental to his business.

He said: “At the moment we pay the congestion charge, however this is different. Do I pass it on to customers or do I pay? I’m not saying ‘boo hoo’ poor me, it really is about the cost.”

The decision to build a tunnel was taken after it was estimated that over the next 15 years, east London will see the biggest rise in population that would put added pressure on existing transport infrastructure.