Introduction

Non Technical Summary of the Environmental Statement - JUNE 2002

Introduction

The Highways Agency has announced a road scheme that provides a bypass of the village of Temple Sowerby and an improvement of the A66 at Winderwath.

The Scheme is a development of the proposals that were the subject of local consultation with the public and interested parties in 1993. These proposals were for a bypass to the south and west of the village. The majority of those who responded expressed support for the route.

The Agency's proposals take the form of draft Orders under the Highways Act that show the line of the Bypass, the alterations to side roads and other rights of way, the section of existing A66 trunk road that will revert to local authority responsibility when the Bypass opens and the compulsory purchase of land needed to build the Bypass.

This leaflet describes the Scheme and summarises, in non-technical language, the Environmental Statement that has been published in accordance with European Directives 85/337/EEC and 97/11/EC as applied by Section 105A of the Highways Act 1980.

Why the Bypass is needed

The A66 is the major east-west route connecting the A1, the North East, Teesside and North Yorkshire with the M6 and the west coast of Cumbria. The volume of traffic (over 13,000 vehicles per day) using the A66 through Temple Sowerby, results in a poor accident record and severs the village bringing noise, pollution and visual intrusion.

In the five year period between 1995-2000 there were 14 recorded personal injury accidents including 2 fatal and 3 severe within Temple Sowerby village. Immediately to the west of the village, the A66 crosses the River Eden on a fine stone arch bridge of substandard width. In the vicinity of the bridge, 14 injury accidents were recorded in the same period including 1 fatal, 1 severe and 12 slight. The A66 continues towards Penrith through Winderwath on a narrow and winding alignment. Further to the west, the junction with Cliburn Road also has a poor accident record with 4 injury accidents recorded in the same period. Throughout the length of A66 to be bypassed there are a large number of uncontrolled junctions and access points that cause conflict with through traffic. The new Bypass will remove around 93% of traffic currently passing through the village, including a large proportion of heavy goods vehicles, greatly improving conditions for all road users, pedestrians and residents.

The Scheme

The 5 km (3.1 mile) dual carriageway bypass starts in the west near Whinfell House and passes to the south and west of Temple Sowerby terminating in the east near Spitals Farm.

From Whinfell House, heading east, the Scheme sweeps to the south, rising on embankments to cross Cliburn Road on a bridge which forms part of a compact two level junction providing access to and from the existing A66 west of the village. Cliburn Road will be realigned but will still provide access to Ash Hill Cottages. Access to Whinfell House will be provided by a new track leading from Cliburn Road.

Passing to the north of Ash Hill Farm the Bypass will be in cutting, with a bridge over the Bypass providing access to Ash Hill Farm from the present A66. As the Bypass approaches the river, the land drops and the road continues on embankment, crossing the flood plain and the River Eden on a bridge approximately 7 m above the river bank The Bypass continues to run on embankment changing to a cutting as it passes to the west of Acton Lodge. The existing bridleway near Acton Lodge will cross the Bypass on a bridge that will be also used for farm access. The road will continue in cutting until it returns to existing ground level to the west of Vicarage Lane. From this point, the Bypass will then rise on embankment to cross Morland Road where a two level junction provides access to and from the east of the village. From Morland Road the Bypass runs on a shallow embankment to rejoin the existing A66 adjacent to Spitals Farm.

Cross-Section of the Proposed A66 Temple Sowerby Bypass near the new housing at Vicarage Lane

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Measures Taken to Reduce Environmental Effects

The Scheme has been designed to reduce, as far as possible, any damage to the environment, whilst still considering other factors such as road safety, engineering design and cost.

Measures to fit the new Bypass into the local landscape comprise the appropriate use of cuttings and embankments, including the use of mounding to screen most views of the road from properties within the village, grading out of the embankment side slopes to integrate the road with the landscape and, where possible, returning land to agricultural use.

Roadside landscaping will further fit the road into the local landscape setting and help in screening and softening views to the road from properties. There will be landscaping of the embanked section of the Bypass on the north side of the road near Winderwath Farm. To the south of Temple Sowerby, the road will be largely in cutting, helping to screen the majority of views from the houses on this side of the village.At Vicarage Lane and the new residential development, landscaped mounds with tree and shrub planting will help to screen the road as it rises on embankment to the new junction and crossing of Morland Road.

Throughout the length of the Scheme, creation of new hedgerows and associated planting areas will not only provide a suitable visual setting for the Bypass but also support and extend local wildlife habitats. The new bridge at Acton Lodge, provided for bridleway and farm vehicle access, will also be designed to encourage use by wildlife.

A series of drainage ponds are proposed where water runoff from the road will be collected and treated to prevent contaminated water reaching the River Eden. The pond surrounds will be landscaped to provide new wildlife habitats.

At the River Eden crossing, the bridge layout will be designed to minimise any impedance on flow of water during flood conditions. Supporting piers will be sited on the flood plain well back from the river edge.

Route Options

The proposal to provide a bypass of Temple Sowerby was first investigated in 1974 at which time 5 routes were considered. A Preferred Route was selected, but was not progressed as the scheme was dropped from the roads programme. The scheme was reintroduced into the programme in 1985 and, in 1991, it was extended to Winderwath. Four routes were investigated, two to the north and two to the south of the village.

The two routes to the north were rejected at that point because of their effects on The Moss and archaeological sites. The third, running to the south, was rejected because it was closer to the village and considered to be more environmentally damaging than the selected route.

Consideration has also been given to other transport options such as encouraging the transfer from car to public transport and freight transport from road to rail. However, even with optimistic assumptions, only a small percentage of traffic would be removed from the village and make virtually no difference to the problems currently being experienced.


Introduction

Environmental Effects

Non Technical Summary of the Environmental Statement - JUNE 2002

Environmental Effects

Noise and Air Quality

The Bypass is expected to remove around 93% of the traffic currently passing through the village, leaving only traffic requiring local access. Air quality will improve for all the properties currently adversely affected by the present A66, and for the village in general. Noise levels will also improve for many village residents, as the Bypass will be more than 100 m from Temple Sowerby and on lower ground. There will be some properties on the western side of the village which will be closer to the Bypass than to the present A66 and so will experience a rise in the level of noise and an increase in air pollution levels, although these levels will still be well below national air quality target limits.

Landscape and Visual Effects

The area is characterised by open, arable and pasture land towards the western and eastern ends of the Scheme, with the enclosed valley and flood plain of the River Eden to the south of the village. The areas of greatest landscape and visual change will be around the River Eden crossing where the new bridge will introduce a substantial new element into an attractive area, presently unaffected by A66 traffic. To the east of the village, many houses have extensive views over the countryside to the south. Some of these open views will be changed and will be replaced by views of the bypass on planted embankment, for example where it crosses Morland Road. Some hedges, field boundaries, mature trees and areas of pasture will be removed to construct the Bypass, however most features will be replaced, where practicable, as part of the Bypass landscape proposals.

Adverse visual effects will lessen as new hedgerows and tree planting mature. The present adverse visual impacts of heavy traffic within the village will also lessen substantially as traffic flows transfer to the bypass.

Agriculture

Most of the land required for the Scheme is good quality farmland. Provision has been made for new accesses where the Bypass crosses several agricultural holdings. There will be some severance of existing fields.

Of considerable benefit to the farming community is the fact that access onto the existing A66 will be much easier following construction of the Bypass.

There will be no direct access to the Bypass from agricultural land.

Cultural Heritage

The listed buildings within the Temple Sowerby Conservation Area will benefit from the Bypass due to the reduced volume of traffic travelling through the village together with reductions in noise and pollution. The Roman Milestone near Spitals Farm will not be affected by the proposals. Beyond the village, there is a crop mark in a field which may be the remains of an Iron Age or Romano-British farm, and also the potential remains of a medieval field system. Parts of these will be lost as a result of the Bypass, but will be surveyed and recorded by archaeologists prior to construction.

Nature Conservation and Water Quality

The River Eden is designated as a candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because it is a clean, relatively unmodified river with many important or protected species including otter, white-clawed crayfish, Atlantic salmon, floating water crowfoot communities, brook lamprey, river lamprey, sea lamprey and bullhead. The Bypass proposals include a number of measures to protect the river during highway construction and operation. The bridge foundations and supporting piers will be constructed outside the boundary of the cSAC and special protection measures will be taken during construction of the drainage outfalls. When the Bypass is in use, water from the road will be collected and passed through balancing lagoons. The lagoons will help to remove pollutants and sediment, control the rate of discharge to the river and contain any spillages. At present, drainage from the road does not undergo any treatment and therefore conditions are expected to be better than they are at present.

Apart from the River Eden, most of the area crossed by the Bypass has few features of value to nature conservation. There are some areas of grassland on the steeper slopes of the river valley which are better wildlife habitats than the more intensively managed fields required for the Bypass. Woodland will not be lost during construction of the Scheme and the landscaping proposals include the planting of a large number of trees.

Several of the hedges and trees behind the village are also of County value as they form navigation routes for bats, some of which roost in properties in the village and fly down to the river valley to feed. The new bridges and landscaping will help maintain links for bats and other wildlife to cross the Bypass as well as providing new habitats for animals to forage. There are also badgers in the area and measures, such as installation of badger fencing, will be taken where necessary to minimise the effect the Bypass will have on them.

Vehicle Travellers

The Scheme will improve conditions significantly for vehicle travellers, resulting in a safer and more reliable section on this strategic trans-Pennine route. For local users, safety at junctions will be greatly improved. There will be some delays to traffic during the construction period when work is carried out to form the new junctions and at the tie-ins on the A66.

Pedestrians and Cyclists

A number of rights of way will be affected by the proposal. The bridleway running south from the village will be maintained by a bridge over the Bypass near Acton Lodge. The footpath along the riverside will pass beneath the new Eden Bridge. New footpath links will be made on both sides of the Bypass, remote from the traffic, between the bridleway bridge and Morland Road to maintain the footpath network between the village and the river valley. Cyclists will be encouraged to use the present A66 and travel through the village rather than use the Bypass. Special links for them at each end of the Bypass will help ensure this.

Construction Effects

Should the Secretary of State accept the proposals, it is expected to take around 18 months to build the Bypass, with tree and shrub planting being completed during the autumn/winter months after the road opens to traffic.

The construction sequence would be a matter for the contractor but certain guiding principles would be stipulated. Such measures would include: limiting disruption to existing traffic and restricting the routes for construction traffic. Furthermore, the contract will stipulate requirements to minimise the effects of construction, such as noise, vibration and dust as well as protecting wildlife habitats and preventing pollution to watercourses.

An archaeological watching brief would be maintained throughout the works, with excavation and recording of any remains in advance of road construction.


Environmental Effects

Public Exhibition

Non Technical Summary of the Environmental Statement - JUNE 2002

Public Exhibition

A public exhibition of the proposals will be held locally, where plans and general details of the scheme will be on display. Representatives from the Highways Agency and their consultants, Scott Wilson, will be present to explain the proposals and answer questions. Admission to the exhibition is free.

The exhibition will be held at:

(We regret there is no disabled access at this venue. If this affects you please contact the Highways Agency and arrangements will be made to explain the proposals.)

What Happens Next?

Depending upon the nature and number of objections received, a Public Inquiry into the draft Orders may be held before an independent Inspector appointed by the Lord Chancellor. If a Public Inquiry is held, then everyone who has supported, objected to, or made other representations about the draft Orders will be notified of the date and the venue at least 6 weeks beforehand. Notices will also appear in the local press.

Further Information

Copies of the draft Orders and the Environmental Statement scheme plans may be inspected free of charge during normal office hours at the following locations until Friday 6th September 2002.

Copies of the Environmental Statement can also be purchased from the Highways Agency in paper or electronic (CD) format at a cost of: £130 + VAT (paper) or £50 + VAT (CD)

Your Views

If you wish to support, comment on or object to the draft Orders or comment on the Environmental Statement you should write, not later than Friday 6th September 2002 to the Highways Agency at the address below:

Highways Agency, Room 611, Sunley Tower, Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester. M1 4BE.

image of traffic on road

Note: The plans and photos, appearing on this publication, indicate the Highways Agencys interpretation of a particular proposal at the date of preparation. The plans and photos are liable to change and should not be relied upon as showing the ultimate intention if this proposal were to be adopted.


Public Exhibition