Campaigners lose High Court battle against A66

The legal challenge to the £1.5bn A66 Northern Trans-Pennine upgrade has been rejected by the High Court.

The National Highways scheme is said to be 'the biggest single investment in the North’s road network in a generation'.

It will dual and upgrade the remaining single carriageway sections along the 50-mile stretch of the A66 between Scotch Corner and Penrith, covering Cumbria, County Durham and North Yorkshire.

The previous Conservative transport secretary Mark Harper had approved the development consent order for the works in March 2024.

However, campaign group Transport Action Network launched a legal battle against the scheme arguing it would increase carbon emissions by 2.7m tonnes.

The group also said air pollution would harm blanket bog, an endangered habitat, and more than 18,200 trees would be felled.

Mr Justice Mould dismissed the High Court case on 25 October 2024.

The judge 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.'

He added the transport secretary had 'found a compelling need for the development to take place' and 'considered whether there were any alternatives which might serve to achieve that compelling need'.

A spokesperson for National Highways said: 'We will update on next steps in due course.'