Broadcaster Chris Packham and former government advisor Sir David King have backed a key legal challenge against three major road schemes as a Court of Appeal hearing begins on Tuesday.
Campaigner Dr Andrew Boswell is challenging the decision to grant development consent for three road schemes in Norfolk, on the grounds that the Department for Transport and National Highways failed to properly consider their combined impacts on climate change.
He first challenged the three schemes in the High Court last year but Justice Thornton dismissed the challenges. However, the case was granted permission to go before the Court of Appeal in October, with the judge noting that it ‘has a real prospect of success’.
If successful, the case could have significant implications for other major schemes in the Government’s roads programme.
Two other climate-focused legal challenges – to the A38 Derby Junctions and A57 Link Roads schemes – are awaiting a decision on Dr Boswell’s Court of Appeal challenge and if it succeeds, National Highways may have to reassess the carbon impact of other large road schemes.
Dr Boswell said: ‘This case has wide implications for how ministers make decisions in the face of the rapidly worsening climate crisis.
‘Each time a minister approves a new road scheme whilst stubbornly refusing to consider the full climate impacts, the national challenge of meeting our climate targets is severely undermined.’
Mr Packham added: ‘Instead of rapidly reducing carbon emissions, the Government is instead driving them up with huge new road building projects.
'Dr Boswell is courageously challenging this unsustainable approach in the Court of Appeal by questioning the routine underestimating of the emissions caused by increasing traffic.’
The case is also supported by the former chief scientific adviser to the UK government, Professor Sir David King.
Chris Griffin, programme leader for National Highways in the East Region, said: ‘We stand by our plans and remain confident that we can deliver significant improvements to both safety and congestion on the A47, as well as providing a huge boost to the regional economy.
‘The legal challenges have marked a difficult turn of events for those who recognise and support the safety case to upgrade this very busy road, but it remains important that we continue to respect and observe the legal process through to its conclusion.’
