Caravans plan for A66 upgrade road workers

The A66 is set to be dualled from Scotch Corner to Penrith

Contractors working on the A66 trans-Pennine upgrade could be housed in caravans behind a roadside pub, documents have revealed.

A planning application has been submitted to North Yorkshire Council for 14 touring caravans to be installed at the rear of the Vintage Inn off the westbound carriageway near Scotch Corner.

The applicant is seeking permission for the caravans to be in place for a four-year period while the dualling scheme, which will stretch from Scotch Corner to Penrith, is carried out.

The documents stated that the scale of the project will mean operators will be needed from outside the local area.

It added: "Due to the remoteness of the A66 route, this will make recruiting operators locally difficult, especially considering how busy the North-East is already with projects such as the steel works regeneration and many other projects."

The document added that operators who had worked on similar schemes had pitched their caravans on farms in the past.

However, due to the proposed work being in a scenic rural area, parts of which are in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, this would not be allowed to prevent a negative impact on tourism.

'Avoid villages and towns'

The supporting documents added: "The applicant is looking to site 14 caravans on the land to the rear of the Vintage Inn to accommodate between 14 and 18 people.

"The requirements of the project do not allow cars or vans or construction traffic to enter local villages which means villages and towns need to be avoided.

"The application site also has the benefit of there being local amenities in the nearby A1 motorway services at Scotch Corner for the contractors to get food etc."

Work was expected to start on the A66 upgrade to full dual carriageway along its 50-mile length in early 2025.

However, doubt has been cast on the scheme after the new government announced a review of large infrastructure projects.

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