PLANS for the £22 million A590 High and Low Newton bypass in Cumbria are a step closer with the confirmation that there has been no High Court legal challenge following the making of the statutory orders for the new road.

The orders give the Highways Agency the legal powers to build the new bypass, following a public inquiry held in 1993.

Following confirmation that there has been no legal challenge to the publication of the orders, the Highways Agency will now go out to tender for the scheme in March.

Subject to funding, work on the 3.8km dual carriageway A590 High and Low Newton Bypass could start in 2005/6 with construction likely to take up to two years.

Highways Agency project manager Peter Mathison said the new bypass would significantly reduce accidents on the road, which links the M6 motorway with South Lakeland and Barrow.

He said the bypass would also restore the villages of High Newton, Low Newton and Ayside to their traditional Lakeland setting by removing 90 per cent of traffic through the villages.