More than 800 people have signed a petition calling for the Appleby to Brough section of the £1 billion A66 upgrade to take a northern route.
Residents have expressed strong concerns about the proposals for the new dual carriageway to be built south of the current road.
On Tuesday, 90-year-old Joy Thompson, of Low Broomrigg, Warcop, was among a number of campaigners who protested in the rain outside the new mini-consultation initiated by National Highways at Warcop parish hall.
Local people are concerned about the impact of the proposed new road on the landscape, on individual living conditions, of noise, pollution, the risks of flooding, the loss of valuable farmland, on property values, business and community facilities heritage sites, and the consequent need for the construction of even more new roads.
National Highways has announced further consultation targeting specific areas where there are opportunities to make revisions to the proposed route, following more than 1,250 responses from a first round of consultation that ended in November.
A spokesman said: “Following our statutory consultation in autumn 2021, our design has changed at certain locations as we have continued to refine our plans in response to the statutory consultation feedback.
“We’ll be asking for feedback on the specific design changes, but not on wider aspects of the scheme as that information was gathered at the statutory consultation in autumn 2021.”
To sign the petition visit https://www.change.org/p/local-residents-a66-new-threat-listen-to-local-people-and-save-their-health-livelihoods-and-environment
Have your say on the planned dualling of the A66 – Read more here
