A66 dualling talks to continue, according to PM Keir Starmer

Work on upgrading the notorious 50-mile stretch between Scotch Corner and Penrith to a full dual carriageway was expected to start in early 2025 after the project was approved in March by the then Transport Secretary.

However, the whole scheme was called into question when Labour came to power after the Department for Transport (DfT) said an “internal review” of ongoing, scheduled and confirmed transport projects would be held.

The A66 stretches between Scotch Corner and Penrith (Image: HIGHWAYS) Over the last three months, transport projects, including the A66, have been on an indefinite hold - leaving the £1.5bn project in question.

Rishi Sunak, MP for Richmond and Northallerton, and Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, recently wrote to Prime Minister Keir Starmer in an attempt to express the vital nature of the A66 dualling scheme on saving the lives of motorists.

Both MPs added to the Prime Minister that "you can – and must – act swiftly to stop these horrifying accidents."

A66 dualling talks to continue, according to PM Keir Starmer:

On Wednesday (October 30) at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQ's) before the first Labour budget in 14 years, Prime Minister Keir Starmer revealed that he would allow Mr Sunak and Mr Farron to speak to the relevant ministers over the A66 scheme. 

He said: "My answer to him is clear: Yes, I will arrange for him to meet the relevant minister about the A66 that runs through his constituency.”

The confirmation of the talks comes after a campaign group lost a bid to bring a High Court legal challenge over the Government’s approval of the plan to dual the road.

The A66 road (Image: HIGHWAYS) Transport Action Network (Tan) asked the court for the green light to challenge the then-transport secretary’s decision from March this year to grant a development consent order allowing the dualling of an 18-mile stretch of the A66.

The group claims the project – which it says will cost £1.5 billion – will increase carbon emissions by 2.7 million tonnes.

The Department for Transport and National Highways both opposed the legal action at a hearing on Wednesday, and Mr Justice Mould dismissed the case on Friday.

In a ruling, the judge said the bid “does not raise an arguable basis” to claim the Secretary of State was wrong to grant the order.

He said: “The Secretary of State plainly took into account the need for the development in terms of national considerations and he also took account of the prospects and opportunities of carrying out the development elsewhere.”