Project moves onto next important phase

Proposals for the biggest generational investment on the north’s road network have taken a step forward following the Planning Inspectorate’s acceptance of our Development Consent Order (DCO) application.

The £1bn A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project will lead to dualling the remaining single carriageway sections of the dualled and key junctions between M6 Junction 40 (Penrith) and the A1 at Scotch Corner improved.

We submitted our DCO application on Tuesday 21 June and the Planning Inspectorate has today (Tuesday 19 July) confirmed we can now move onto the pre-examination stage.

The submission came following a series of consultations with local communities which began last autumn.

More than 1,200 people and organisations provided feedback on our designs. We also held a number of public information events along the route where more than 1,500 people attended.

We took this consultation feedback and built it into our 2022 Winter Update. These were then re-consulted through a series of non-statutory consultations.

Lee Hillyard, National Highways’ A66 Northern Trans-Pennine Project Director, said:

“We are pleased that our DCO submission has been successful and accepted by the Planning Inspectorate and this marks another significant milestone for this important project. 

“I’d like to thank the members of the public and stakeholders for their input throughout the consultation process and we will continue to keep them informed of the latest developments in relation to the project.”

Should our proposals be approved as a result of the Planning Inspectorate’s process, and the Secretary of State’s decision given, work on the project is expected to start in 2024.

Interviews with members of the A66 NTP team are available and can be scheduled. Please contact PressOfficeNorthWest@nationalhighways.co.uk to arrange a time and date.

To read the documents included in our DCO submissions, consultation summary report and project updates visit our website.

For more information about the DCO process, please visit:

https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/application-process/the-process/

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A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project