An 89-year-old Eden resident stood out in the rain to campaign for the Appleby to Brough section of the £1 billion A66 upgrade to take a northern route.
Joy Thompson was among a number of campaigners who spent the afternoon outside the Hub in Appleby where a public consultation event, organised by National Highways, was being held.
Strongly felt concerns about proposals for the new dual carriageway to be built south of the current road have been expressed and protestors came from Crosby Garrett, Warcop, Musgrave, Dyke Nook, near Sandford, Appleby and further afield.
Passers-by were informed about the advantages of the new dual carriageway between Appleby and Brough taking a route north of the present A66, not south as currently proposed. People were encouraged to sign a petition at change.org for a northern route, which, by Wednesday, had 690 signatures.
Mrs Thompson, who was one of the organisers of the event, is likely to have a new dual carriageway and an additional slip road built between her house, which has been in the family since 1950, and the existing road, with a new road 40 metres away and a sink pond 14 metres away.
In addition, two 90-year olds would find themselves living on the edge of a building site, possibly for years, with long-term increased noise and pollution from heavier and faster traffic, said a campaign spokeswoman.
She said: “This meeting shows the strength of local feeling about the A66 northern route and people’s very real fears about the impact of the current proposals on their health, livelihoods and environment.”
Despite 94 per cent of Warcop and Musgrave residents expressing a preference for a northern route in November, 2020, this option has not been offered to the public.
“The reason given by HE for not offering a route north is that it is forbidden to build on an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
“Residents, however, know that the Army land used for firing is not beautiful, is not open to the public, and is hidden from the road by trees,” said the spokeswoman.
“Due to changed patterns of warfare, it may not even be needed by the Army in the future, but by then the road will have been built south and another rare bit of countryside destroyed for our children and grandchildren.
“A road north could provide a tourist attraction. Moreover, there is no reason in law why an AONB may not be built on,” she added.
National Highways (formerly Highways England), which is proposing the biggest investment on the north’s road network for a generation, is three weeks into a six-week consultation on the latest designs for the £1bn project.
The public has until November 6 to voice opinions on the plans to improve the A66 between the M6 at Penrith and A1 at Scotch Corner, by dualling the remaining sections of the route and improving a number of key junctions.
And, in a world first for a scheme consultation, National Highways has introduced design company Arup’s innovative SoundLab technology, which gives people a unique opportunity to listen to the expected noise levels and hear the sound of the road with and without the proposed improvements, such as special road surfaces and sound barriers.
Transport Minister Baroness Vere, who was given a demonstration of the SoundLab during last month’s consultation launch event, said: “I’m pleased to see National Highways working so closely together with Arup on this cutting-edge technology.
“The A66 is set to have a transformational impact on the region and I encourage anyone with an interest to get involved with this important consultation.”
The consultation will help National Highways put together its application for a Development Consent Order which, if successful, would pave the way for the scheme to go ahead.
