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Representation by A.W. Jenkinson (A.W. Jenkinson)

Date submitted
2 September 2022
Submitted by
Members of the public/businesses
  1. I, Allan Jenkinson am the owner occupier of Whinfell Park Farm, Penrith, a substantial arable and livestock farm. 2. I hold a tenancy on the eastward adjoining holding, Whinfell House, owned by Winderwath Settled Estate. 3. The two holdings are farmed as one and support a pedigree Limousin herd and substantial ewe flock. 4. The livestock enterprise utilises modern buildings at Whinfell Park Farm, surrounded by Grades 2 and 3 agricultural land. 5. The farm is located east of Penrith, occupying land north and south of the A66. 6. The proposed dualling scheme follows closely the A66 and requires land acquisition north and south of the existing highway. 7. Since commencement of negotiations in 2019 I have cooperated with Winderwath Estate regarding work affecting the tenanted holding. 8. Mitigation proposals affect both holdings. We have successfully negotiated mitigation on my own land but 14 acres of tenanted land at Whinfell House are designated as woodland. This will adversely affect my business. 9. The SRG proposed on my land should run only from roadside to field boundary wall, avoiding interference with livestock operations. 10. My landlord has planted c18 acres of woodland close to the highway for the specific purpose of mitigation of environmental impact. I strongly support their submission that this should be considered when assessing further mitigation requirements. 11. The scheme proposes creation of a public access north of the completed road for pedestrians and cyclists, also to be used by farm staff for livestock and farm machinery. This is clearly a safety concern and should be reconsidered. 12. I understand the existing public footpath running up the side of Barn/Schoolhouse field is being rerouted. To avoid serious Health, Safety and security risks to both my employees and the public, I suggest rerouting to run alongside the Centre Parcs access road. We are happy with our Position Statement – negotiated in meetings with the HA team. Accommodation works remain to be clarified at detailed design stage – the fundamental outstanding issues being: • The safety of the access road proposed to double as a public right of way. • The doubling of the number of balancing ponds because of separate local authority and Highways requirements. • Future maintenance responsibilities for the proposed public access route. • If new woodland is required on Winderwath Estate, future maintenance liabilities including livestock fencing, must be addressed. The proposed woodland planting on part of the tenanted land at Whinfell House will adversely affect my agricultural operation and my landlord considers that it is unnecessary because of the extensive adjoining planting completed at their expense specifically for mitigation purposes. • The current design suggests that the access road is diverted around the balancing ponds. This is inappropriate for large agricultural machinery and the designers should consider siting the access road immediately parallel to the A66.