Residents are protesting about plans to expand the A66 only metres from their homes.
Campaigners dispute the choice of National Highways, previously Highways England, as the preferred route, saying it will disrupt their lives even more than the present single carriageway.
People in Musgrave, Warcop and Sandford are also concerned by the thought of huge wagons travelling down the new A66 highway.
The Appleby to Brough section of the project is part of the £1 billion scheme to dual all the remaining single carriageway sections between Penrith and Scotch Corner.
The residents maintain that they were only offered a single route option based on “misleading information” about discounted route options by National Highways.
They claim that there are inaccuracies in the reasoning of National Highways in their discounting of five other route options.
The chairs of each parish council also object to the route on the grounds that it will bring a four-lane highway closer to properties, businesses and farms along the route thereby increasing air, noise and visual pollution, campaigners said.
Calls for plan to be scrapped
Campaigners are calling for National Highways to scrap their chosen route in favour of their alternative northern bypass option. They claim a recent survey found that 94 per cent of residents surveyed supported a northern route compared to the current option.
Billy Welch, leader of the traveller community, also pointed out that “part of the route would run across Brough Fair Hill, an important historic and cultural site granted a charter in 1370. We will not allow this road to be built there, and fully support the alternative route that the two parish councils are proposing.”
Chairman of Warcop Parish Council, David Keetley said: “Essentially, we are demanding a northern bypass, using low-grade agricultural and rough land currently used by the MOD. We accept that some of it would have to go across AONB land, but we are the custodians of that land as we live here.
“This road will exist for hundreds of years, and we must protect our communities for future generations.”
As well as removing all the pollution threats, campaigners say that their proposed northern route would be cheaper and easier to build, with far fewer “unnecessary junctions”, and freeing up the old A66 as a local access road for farm vehicles, cyclists, walkers, horse riders and non-motorised users.
“Only two main junctions would be required,” said Mark Blackett-Ord, a campaigner, “one near Café 66 and the other at Brough. Furthermore, our route takes it further away from historic monuments and ancient barrows to the south of the existing carriageway,”
“Natural England will only consider such a route through AONB in ‘exceptional circumstances,” said Mr Keetley. “We believe our health and well-being are precisely the exceptional circumstances that must be met. Other schemes have been built through AONB so why not our bypass proposal?”
Campaigners are calling for a “properly engineered and landscaped route further north, across a small part of Warcop MoD Training Area.”
National Highways response
Lee Hillyard, National Highways’ A66 trans-Pennine project director said: “Since we made our preferred route announcement in May 2020 on our design for the A66, we’ve identified two locations – Kirkby Thore and Warcop – where there is an opportunity to review the proposed route to further reduce the environmental and ecological impact.
“We are continuing to work with residents and landowners around potential alternative routes as the design work progresses and these options were presented to the local community in both areas at engagement events held last month.”
National Highways are continuing to meet with residents on the northern section of the route as designs and plans evolve.
