When a politician uses words such as “carbuncle” you can guarantee they have been chosen deliberately to make headlines but on this occasion I had to agree. I had worked with Kevin Beaty, the Conservative leader of Eden Council, on a number of times during my time at the Herald and I think we had a good understanding and mutual trust. And on this occasion I completely agreed with his choice of headline grabbing word and on this occasion it made the front page splash.

EDEN Council’s leader has described a proposed flyover, linking two main roads near Penrith, as a “carbuncle at the gateway to the Lake District”.

Any such structure would be part of the dualling of the A66 from Scotch Corner to Penrith, and would join the improved route to the A6 at Kemplay, on the outskirts of the town.

However, Highways England, the organisation responsible for major roads across the country, has said it is at the very early stage of looking at a number of options for linking the two roads and nothing has yet been decided.

Kevin Beaty (Con, Skelton) will put forward a motion at a meeting of the full council on Thursday urging his fellow councillors to strongly oppose any plans put forward by Highways England for a flyover.

He added that the council did support alternative routes linking the improved A66 with the A6, which would run either to the north and east of Penrith or to the south of the town, because they would increase the future economic potential of the area and are supported by local landowners as well as town councillors.

However, Mr Beaty said that at a recent meeting representatives from Highways England had told him they had already discounted the possibility of an eastern bypass.

He added that he had been told there was a “robust budget” of £80 million for road improvements for the Penrith area. It is understood that an eastern route could cost £180 million.

“We want to make sure the design of the A66 improvements is conducive with what we want to do for Penrith,” he said. “Kemplay Bank is the busiest junction for Penrith. There are plans for 2000 homes that will access through there and we don’t think Highways England have put too much thought into how the A66 will join the A6.”

He added that a potential flyover, with more junctions around Kemplay Bank, would cause more congestion. He said: “We are bound to be getting more stop-start traffic. The reason we are highlighting this is it’s public knowledge it is part of the plan. We want Highways England to consider all options.”

In February, the Government backed these future growth concepts for Penrith by awarding the district council £250,000 to use for multi-agency work to investigate the potential of what a new relief road to the east could bring by freeing up land for new homes and commercial land to create a higher wage local economy.

The council believes a new relief road to the east, linking the A66 with Stoneybeck roundabout to the north of the town by cutting across behind the Beacon, would support the proposed growth for housing, employment, education, leisure and recreation and enhance flood alleviation in accordance with Government policy in the emerging revised National Planning Policy Framework.

It would also reduce the use of the A66 around Penrith, thereby creating highway capacity for localised traffic to support future economic growth.

Mr Beaty said the council fully supported plans for dualling of the A66, which was long overdue, but how this improved road meets the A6 was a critical part of how the district will develop in the future.

He added: “A flyover to join these two roads would be a carbuncle, a truly brutal measure at the gateway to the Lake District, which has recently been awarded world heritage status.

“Any flyover would undoubtedly ruin the views people enjoy of Eden district from within the national park and from Penrith’s historic Beacon.

“We have grave concerns over the way in which traffic would move west along a new A66 to Junction 40 of the M6 and the integration of traffic on any proposed flyover could result in either danger to life or exacerbating existing major traffic hold-ups.

“The environmental impact of more traffic around Kemplay Bank and Eamont Bridge would reduce air quality further for local residents and visitors, meaning the council could have to create an air quality management zone, potentially resulting in road closures.”

Mr Beaty said these are “exciting times for the future development of the UK” with initiatives such as the Northern Powerhouse and Borderlands, and dualling of the A66 was a key part of the work because it was important to have “roads fit for the future”.

He added: “We have a shared responsibility to get the connections of the adjoining roads to an improved A66 right, so they are not only safer for road users, but the significant infrastructure investment also benefits local residents and the wider economy for the future.

“Any proposed junction with a flyover would be totally detrimental to Eden’s future and I hope Highways England reconsiders its proposals and that members support my motion on notice next Thursday.”

A spokesman for Highways England said: “We are in the very early stages of looking at ways of completing the dualling of the A66 between the M6 in Cumbria and the A1 in County Durham to improve journeys across the Pennines.

“This will mean a vital investment in the transport infrastructure of the north. Improving arrangements at Kemplay roundabout, where the A6 meets the A66, is certainly being considered.

“We can reassure local people, including communities and road users, nothing is confirmed. We are committed to publicising and consulting on options and any firm proposals would also be subject to a statutory public consultation and planning process.”

From the Cumberland & Westmorland Herald on Saturday, April 14, 2018.