Motorway services operator Sarah Dunning is calling on ministers to rethink plans for a motorway repair project she says will deter lorry drivers from using a much-loved truckstop.
Dunning, who chairs family-owned Westmorland Group, says National Highways’ planned closure of Junction 38 on the M6 for vital bridge repairs will be disastrous for the company’s 80-bay facility at the intersection with the A685 as well as other local businesses.
She and Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Londsdale, joined local residents and a fellow business owner earlier this week to hand an 8,000-signature petition to 10 Downing Street calling on the government to ensure temporary slip roads are created to keep the junction open through the roadworks, which are due to begin next year.
Farron went on to meet with roads and buses minister Simon Lightwood.
Although Westmorland’s Tebay Services – a mile north of J38 – will not be directly affected, Dunning believes there will be a knock-on impact in terms of lower traffic.
While accepting that the bridge repairs are essential, the campaigners, claim partial closures of the junction will create a 17-mile detour for southbound drivers using the truckstop, as J37 is 8.5 miles away. Those travelling north face a 5.5-mile trip to J39.
Dunning, who is due to speak about wider challenges facing the independent motorway services sector at the Forecourt Trader Summit on February 24, says the campaign will continue.
“It is a very live situation. We want to put a lot of pressure on National Highways and our objective is to show that we are not going away. We need a constructive conversation over these issues at Westminster,” she says.
National Highways says the work on the bridges over the Lune Gorge is necessary because the structures, built in the late 1960s, are at the end of their lifespan.
The agency says that while a contraflow will allow contractors to provide access to junctions and local businesses most of the time, there will be times when full closures are necessary at weekends and night. It says these will be kept to a minimum.
It is also looking at the feasibility of including temporary slip roads and says it will “be sharing this information in the coming weeks”.
“Our aim is to cause as little disruption as possible. That’s why we are working with local communities and businesses nearby to limit the impact,” it adds.
