Almost £70 million spent on abandoned project to dual the A1 in Northumberland
Almost £70 million was spent on a project to dual the A1 in Northumberland before the project was scrapped by the Labour Government last year.
A Freedom of Information request seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service showed that £68.4 million had already been spent on the project despite the fact construction had not begun when the project was abandoned.
The plan to dual a 13-mile section of the road between Morpeth and Ellingham was postponed three times by the previous Conservative Government.
It was granted the green light in May – but only after the General Election had been called and with the Tories languishing behind Labour in the polls, leading to accusations of cynicism from political opponents.
In October, the Labour Government confirmed it would not go ahead with the plans after all, calling the scheme “unfunded and unaffordable”.
But the Highways England figures obtained via an FOI show that £31.6 million had already been spent on construction preparation. A further £15.8 million had been spent on preliminary design, while £7.5 million was spent on “advanced statutory undertakers, diversions and designs” – essentially on surveys and other professional fees. A further £7.2 million was spent on land needed for the construction of the road.
The total figure represented an increase on the £67 million already spent on the scheme by 2023.
The leader of Northumberland County Council, Coun Glen Sanderson, reacted to the figures by reiterating the need for the road to be dualled.
He said: “It was a very devastating blow for everyone who has worked so hard for decades to see this road dualled. Many people have been hurt on the road and some people have been killed.
“It is the main link between two countries and to have a road that has increased levels of traffic that causes it to come to a standstill is a terrible indictment of where we are. It is vital that nobody loses heart and we continue to put the argument to Government that this really is important. It is not just about the importance of the road – it is also because we know more traffic is going onto some of the council’s roads.
“They are paid for by the council and we will be faced with even bigger repair bills. There is also a known and real issue around drivers coming up to one of those long jams and taking a road off, causing significant inconvenience to smaller communities, particularly Felton and Thirston.
“I can understand why people do it, but the fact that we have very heavy lorries using these routes isn’t acceptable to local people and it is a safety issue.”
The Government has said it will explore “best value” solutions for the A1 which could consist of smaller improvement schemes to address safety and congestion challenges. However, at this time the DfT was unable to confirm any schemes on the A1, or provide any timescales.
A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: “We’re committed to boosting growth across the country and National Highways will explore solutions to this section of the A1 that offer the best value for money.
“However, given the challenging financial picture inherited, we have had to make difficult decisions about a number of roads as they were unfunded or unaffordable.”