Following the announcement by the Secretary of State for Transport giving the go ahead to the A66 TransPennine upgrade on Thursday evening The Friends of the Lake District that have opposed the upgrade scheme have issued a statement calling the decision by the Secretary of State short-sighted.
The Friends of the Lake District believe the new dual carriageway sections road will harm the landscape and tranquillity of the North Pennines AONB.
They are calling for safety upgrades to the road, not “wholesale dualling of the road”. And have said they challenge the argument that the A66 is “the most dangerous road in the UK”.
One of the concerns the Friends of the Lake District have raised is that they believe the upgraded A66 will bring more day trip traffic into the Lake District, directly conflicting with a 25 strong partnership aim to reduce visitor car journeys and increase sustainable transport options.
Dr Kate Willshaw, Policy Officer at Friends of the Lake District said:
“At a time when so many of us are experiencing the impact of climate change, it is morally wrong to embark on a project that will lock-in greater car use. What we need is action to rapidly cut emissions and encourage massive behaviour change about car use.
“In addition, Parliament has just passed new legislation which means that bodies such as National Highways must “seek to further” the purposes of national parks and AONBs. This is much stronger than previous legislation and means that any development that affects national parks and AONBs must actually include measures which don’t just mitigate harm, but actually make the environment of the protected landscapes better. Upgrading the A66 will in fact do the opposite and damage both the Lake District and the North Pennines AONB.
“We are bitterly disappointed by this short-sighted decision by the Secretary of State and we will be considering our next steps.”
Following the announcement of the Secretary of State decision groups have a six week period that they can call for a judicial review.
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