Catalogue description Department of the Environment: A66 (Workington to Barons Cross, Penrith) Trunk Road Public Inquiry: Inquiry records

Section 279 of the Highways Act 1959 (c25) empowers the Minister to hold a public inquiry to hear objections to orders made under sections 7 and 9 of the Act. The A66 was made a trunk route in 1968. Due to the level and number of objections the minister decided in October 1971 to have an enquiry. Sir Robert Scott (former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence) was appointed inspector to chair the Inquiry.

The Inquiry was held at Penrith from January to March 1972. Responsibility for the administration of the enquiry was shared between Highways 2: Trunk and Principal Road Administration Division and Road Construction Units (Northern and North Western).

The most substantial objections were those of the Countryside Commission, the Lake District Planning Board and the Friends of the Lake District. Objections were also received from other organisations and individual members of the public countrywide.

This inquiry was exceptional in its scope in that the proposed scheme raised issues which made it of national importance. The route passed through part of the Lake District National Park and many objections were to the disruption of the National Park landscape on principle. The decision to make the route a trunk road was taken on the advice of Cumberland County Council who considered the potential economic benefits out weighed the detrimental impact on the environment.