Tim Farron makes final plea to Treasury ministers to approve A66 upgrade next week

With just a week to go until the Government’s long-awaited Spending Review, Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron has made a final ask of Treasury Ministers to approve plans to dual the A66 from Penrith to Scotch Corner.

Today, the Chancellor announced funding for a number of transport infrastructure projects in the North of England, but this didn’t include the A66 Northern Trans-Pennine Scheme.

The £1.6bn project was thrown into doubt last autumn after it was announced that it was being included in a spending review carried out by the Department for Transport.

In 2023 alone there we 12 fatalities on the stretch of road between Penrith and Scotch Corner.

Speaking in the House of Commons today during a ministerial statement on Regional Growth, Tim said: “People in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Durham are deeply concerned to see no mention at all in the Chancellor's announcement of the A66 dualling project, which is vital to boosting the economy of the North and even more importantly, to saving lives.

“So will he allay Cumbria's fears and commit now to the A66 upgrade?”

In response, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said: “If I if I might say so Madam Deputy Speaker, I think the member’s slightly confused. The statement today is about devolving transport funding to mayors for intercity transport.

“He's asking me questions on the broader spending of the Department for Transport, which will be announced in the Spending Review next Wednesday.”