An environmental pressure group is objecting to the planned upgrade of the A66 to full dual carriageway status from Penrith to Scotch Corner.
The Friends of the Lake District said it was a “questionable project” being brought forward and paid for by the public purse during a cost of living crisis, high interest rates and recession when it does not break even on overall benefits.
It has registered to give evidence at the examination of the project — which is like a public inquiry — that is to be held by the Planning Inspectorate.
In its initial representation, the Friends of the Lake District says the Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) for the whole road is 0.92.
“This puts the A66 upgrade in the bottom one per cent of value for money of all transport infrastructure projects assessed by the Department for Transport 2015-2019.
“This is a questionable project to be brought forward and paid for by the public purse during a cost of living crisis, high interest rates and recession when it does not break even on overall benefits.
“It is difficult to square the climate emergency with these proposals which will emit 518,562 tonnes of CO2 during construction and 2,190,452 tonnes over its lifetime.
“The value of cumulative carbon emissions from the scheme has not been used in the Benefit Cost Ratio calculations because no cumulative assessment has been done.”
