The Northallerton and Richmond MP met Minister Lilian Greenwood along with Tim Farron, the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, to urge the Government to press ahead with the £1.3bn scheme to dual the remaining stretches of single carriageway between Scotch Corner and Penrith.
Due to start early in 2025, work on the scheme was put on hold by the new Government following July’s General Election.
Rishi Sunak and Tim Farron meet Lilian Greenwood (Minister for the Future of Roads) to discuss the A66 project (Image: RISHI SUNAK MP) Mr Sunak said the meeting allowed him and Mr Farron, whose constituency covers the western end of the vital route, to make the case for the upgrading work to commence as soon as possible.
He said: “The Minister acknowledged that the safety record of the A66 is very poor which I think is extremely important.
“Within days of our meeting, there was another serious accident on the North Yorkshire stretch of the road which only served to underline the necessity for getting work started on the project as soon as possible.”
Major construction work on upgrading the notorious 50-mile stretch of road between Scotch Corner and Penrith was expected to start in early 2025 after the project received planning consent in March 2024.
The proposed £1.3 billion upgrade will see the entire route dualled and enhanced with key safety and capacity improvements.
But the whole scheme was called into question when the new Government initiated an “internal review” of ongoing, scheduled and confirmed transport projects.
The A66 between Scotch Corner and Penrith (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) The Department of Transport has said that the A66 Northern Trans-Pennine scheme is being considered alongside other UK projects as part of the ‘multi-year spending review’ set out by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in July 2024. announced she was launching a multi-year spending review.
A Department for Transport (DfT) spokesperson said: “We take road safety seriously and are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads.
“Transport is an essential part of the Government’s mission to rebuild Britain and grow our economy, and we are committed to building infrastructure which will drive growth and opportunity across the North while delivering value for money for taxpayers.”
The DFT added that it was “developing our road safety strategy and will set out more details in due course.”
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Mr Sunak said the continuing delay was “hugely disappointing”.
Earlier this year, the project had faced an unrelated delay after an anti-roads pressure group, the Transport Action Network, sought to challenge the planning consent for the project.
Its legal challenge to the High Court was rejected in October this year.
Mr Sunak added: “The further delay to work on this scheme, which is ready to start, is frustrating for the users of this vital Northern transport link and the people who live alongside it in communities like Ravensworth, the Laytons and Dalton who face the daily dangers of getting on and off the congested single carriageway sections.”
He said that in the meeting with the Minister, he and Mr Farron had repeated points made in a joint letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in October.
This highlighted safety concerns about the existing road and that twelve people had died on the route since 2023.
The MPs’ meeting with the Future of Roads Minister Ms Greenwood came within days of another serious collision on the North Yorkshire section of the road, resulting in three people being treated in hospital and a lengthy closure of the road.
“This latest accident is a stark reminder of why the A66 upgrade is so urgently needed.” added the Richmond and Northallerton MP.