A1 'must be dualled' as Northumberland visitor numbers top 11 million

This represents a significant rise on the previous year and also surpasses all pre-pandemic levels – the first year this has happened.

While the economic benefits have been welcomed there is concern that the county’s infrastructure is struggling under the strain. Of chief concern is the A1 after plans to dual the road were scrapped in 2024.

Campaigners have long called for the road to be dualled, and there is concern that the rising number of people visiting the area who are unfamiliar with the road could cause further accidents.

According to a report to the council’s cabinet, total visits rose to 11.13 million in 2025 – up from 10.46 million in 2024, an increase of 6.41%. This follows a 3.4% percentage increase the previous year, showing significant year-on-year growth.

The visitor economy is also worth £1.58 billion to the area, reaching a record high in 2025 and more than doubling in a decade.

Cabinet member for tourism Cllr Wendy Pattison said: “Of course the county needs tourism for our economic growth. I am ecstatic about the figures, they are tremendous – but I fully understand that some of our villages never foresaw they were going to get the volume of tourists when they were built.

“I do worry because I regularly have to travel on the A1. On Fridays, it is absolutely terrible – it’s nose to tail all the way up.

“The A1 is problematic, but if we didn’t have the tourists this county wouldn’t be as wonderful as it is. I don’t know what the answer is – unless the Government steps back in.”

Cllr Guy Renner-Thompson, who represents the Bamburgh ward, said: “The argument we’re trying to make is we might not have the population, but we get hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. These are people who aren’t familiar with the junctions on the road.

“That makes it even more dangerous. We have these key junctions at Belford, Ellingham and Denwick that people use to access the coastal roads.

“You see people stopping on the A1 and because there’s no central reservation people just drive into the back of them. The more visitors we get, the more this will happen.

“Last bank holiday – we have never seen anywhere on the coast as busy. If that carries on into the summer, there is going to be more accidents.”

Council leader Glen Sanderson said: “I think it’s a great number and I’m really grateful to everybody involved to make this the best place in Britain to visit.

“However, increasing traffic on roads that aren’t up to it creates further problems for us. The key problem is the A1, which we know needs significant work to make it safe and allow the traffic to flow.

“We know that often, sections come to an absolute stop. Traffic also takes rat runs through villages and on the A697, which isn’t fit for the level of traffic either.

“The visitor numbers are a great achievement for everyone involved, but it does make it obvious for all to see that you can’t attract the level of visitors we are without looking at the infrastructure.”