Highways Agency

• Introduction
• Environmental effects
• Rejected routes

A66 Dualling Cross Lanes to Greta Bridge

Environmental Effects

The Highways Agency attaches great importance to environmental issues.All six proposed schemes will be designed with sensitive issues in mind, with mitigation included where possible. For example, earth mounding or fencingwill be used in conjunction with screen planting. Planting of native trees and shrubs will also be used to help integrate the road into the surrounding landscape. Steps will be taken to safeguard water quality, ecology and cultural heritage.

An Environmental Impact Assessment has been carried out and the resultsare summarised on the table below.

Environmental Issue	Black/Red Route		Black/Brown Route
	General Effect of the Proposal	Comment	General Effect of the Proposal	Comment
Local Air Quality	Neutral	Small number of properties subject to greater concentrations of vehicle airpollutants, however it is still within the limits of the National Air QualityStandards.	Neutral	Small number of properties subject to greater concentrations of vehicle airpollutants, however it is still within the limits of the National Air QualityStandards.
Cultural Heritage	Positive	Group setting of St Mary's Church and buildings will be enhanced.	Negative	Negative impact on setting of St Mary's Church and buildings.
Disruption Due to Construction	Negative	Every effort will be made to minimise disruption during construction.	Negative	Every effort will be made to minimise disruption during construction.
Ecology and Nature Conservation	Negative	Greatest loss of hedgerows but retains more mature trees. Impact on terrestrialhabitats.	Negative	Smaller loss of hedgerows but greater loss of mature trees. Impact on terrestrialhabitats is minimised.
Landscape Effects - Character	Negative	Change to the character of the landscape.	Negative	Least impact of routes on landscape character.
Landscape Effects - Visual Impact	Neutral	Least impact on visual receptors.	Neutral	Impact on visual receptors, which can be mitigated.
Land Use: Demolition	Negative	Demolition of 3 farm buildings at Cross Lanes Farm and the Old Rectory.	Negative	Demolition of 3 farm buildings at Cross Lanes Farm and the Old Rectory.
Land Use: Community Land	Neutral	Not affected.	Neutral	Not affected.
Land Use: Development Land	Neutral	Not affected.	Neutral	Not affected.
Land Use: Agricultural Land	Negative	Slight loss of Grade 3 agricultural land. No severance.	Negative	Slight loss of Grade 3 agricultural land. No severance.
Traffic Noise and Vibration	Positive	The Red route will take the road further away from existing properties.	Neutral	Closely follows the existing A66, therefore no change.
Water Quality	Positive	Long-term benefit to water quality and improvement of localised flood control.	Positive	Long-term benefit to water quality and improvement of localised flood control.
Pedestrians, Cyclists etc.	Positive	Improvements will be provided at footpath crossing points of the A66.	Positive	Improvements will be provided at footpath crossing points of the A66.
Vehicle Travellers: Driver Views	Neutral	Travellers views will not alter significantly.	Neutral	Travellers views will not alter significantly.
Vehicle Travellers: Driver Stress	Positive	The route will significantly reduce driver stress due to safer overtaking andimproved junctions.	Positive	The route will significantly reduce driver stress due to safer overtaking andimproved junctions.
Geology and Soils	Negative	May encounter contaminated soils.	Negative	May encounter contaminated soils.
Policies and Plans	Neutral	Proposals in accordance with relevant policies & plans.	Neutral	Proposals in accordance with relevant policies & plans.