DCO acceptance for National Highways A66
Proposals for the biggest generational investment in the north of the UK’s road network have taken a step forward following the Planning Inspectorate’s acceptance of the Development Consent Order (DCO) application.
The £1bn A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project will lead to dualling the remaining single carriageway sections of the dualled and key junctions between M6 Junction 40 (Penrith) and improvements to the A1 at Scotch Corner.
The DCO application was submitted on Tuesday 21 June and the Planning Inspectorate has confirmed that the project can now move onto the pre-examination stage.
We are providing programme advisory, project management, project controls, cost management and safety, health and equality advisory on the project, including DCO project management and DCO support.
More than 1,200 people and organisations provided feedback on the designs. We also held a number of public information events along the route where more than 1,500 people attended.
Feedback from the consultation was built into the 2022 Winter Update. These were then reconsulted through a series of non-statutory consultations.
Should the proposals be approved as a result of the Planning Inspectorate’s process, and the Secretary of State’s decision given, work on the project is expected to start in 2024.
Lee Hillyard, National Highways’ A66 Northern Trans-Pennine Project Director, said:
We are pleased that our DCO submission has been successful and accepted by the Planning Inspectorate and this marks another significant milestone for this important project.
“I’d like to thank the members of the public and stakeholders for their input throughout the consultation process and we will continue to keep them informed of the latest developments in relation to the project."
