Tim Farron presents petition to Parliament calling for A66 upgrade

On the floor of the House of Commons, local MP Tim Farron has presented a petition signed by more than 2,000 people urging the Government to give the green light to long awaited plans to dual the A66 from Penrith to Scotch Corner.

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.

Tim met with the Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood, alongside Rishi Sunak the MP for neighbouring Richmond & Northallerton, to make the case for the scheme

The Minister said that a final decision on the project won’t be announced until the Treasury’s Spending Review, which will take place in June.

Speaking in Parliament, Tim said: “I rise to present a petition on behalf of 2,247 of my constituents who call on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to urgently give the go-ahead to plans to dual the A66 from Penrith to Scotch Corner.

“They declare that this would bring huge benefits to the North West region, reducing congestion and providing a big boost to the North economy; further note that it will limit the number of serious and fatal accidents which tragically are a regular occurrence on this road.

“The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to give the green light to plans to dual the A66 between Penrith and Scotch Corner, which would reduce congestion, boost the economy, and save lives.”