Government urged to change the way northern projects are assessed after A1 dualling scrapped

Coun Richard Wearmouth made the comments at a hustings ahead of local elections. Candidates were speaking at the event ahead of the Northumbe rland poll on May 1.

The Government was also told by Coun Wearmouth and his Labour opponent Coun Scott Dickinson that it needed to change the way major northern infrastructure projects are assessed.

The Government cancelled the A1 project in the autumn, having deemed it poor value for money. Prospective councillors from Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK were asked if they still backed the £500million project to dual a 13-mile stretch of the major route between Morpeth and Ellingham.

The previous Tory Government had given the project the green light just prior to the General Election, promoting cynicism at the timing. Pressed on this the Northumberland Conservatives deputy leader Coun Richard Wearmouth suggested that civil servants in Whitehall had a “lack of enthusiasm” for the project under the Conservative Government.

The Morpeth Kirkhill candidate said: “I have sat in the relevant seat at County Hall for a good proportion of that time with the economic portfolio. Ultimately, national projects like this go incredibly slowly.

“I have to say, I didn’t find an awful lot of enthusiasm from some of the civil servants. I think they frustrated that project along the route – it should have been much faster than it was.

“It wasn’t down to political will – everyone, across the political spectrum, was always asking about it. This is something Labour MPs need to watch out for.

“The Prime Minister has mentioned it. Civil servants need to take direction from the representatives of the people, that is what they are there for.”

In December, Sir Keir Starmer criticised the civil service in a speech, claiming Whitehall was too “comfortable” with “managed decline”. He added the service was resistant to trying anything “too ambitious”.

Coun Wearmouth added: “We were disappointed that the A1 dualling was cancelled. The Labour Party minister described it as poor value for money, and that is something that we see time and time again in the North East, we see these projects fail the Green Book test.

“We need to lobby to change that. In the mean time, we are resigned to the fact that we’re not likely to get a change so we’re looking at ways to protect the route.”

The Green Book test refers to guidance from the Treasury on appraising politics, programs and projects in terms of their financial impact. Northumberland Labour leader Coun Scott Dickinson MBE agreed with his Tory opponent that the test was restrictive for projects in the north.

The Druridge Bay councillor and candidate said: “Richard touched on a good point around the Green Book. It is very skewed to the south with population and value for money arrangements which often brings lots of very beneficial infrastructure projects in the North out as being poor value for money, when in fact they’re not.

“They could really impact on a grander scale in the north. The previous Labour administration at the county council did the economic impact assessment that presented the benefits of dualling the A1 to the Government.

“Over that 10 to 15 year period things have changed. What I would say is we are still committed to improving infrastructure in the North.

“There is lots to be done there, and there has been lots of commitment on finances given for safety improvements at crossings and junctions on the A1 where there are significant issues.”

Natalie Younes, the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Morpeth North ward, said the party was disappointed the project was cancelled. However, she added that the Lib Dems would focus on smaller schemes to improve safety.

She said: “We’re really disappointed about the A1 and how it has stalled. We recognise how important it is for residents up and down north Northumberland and the big issues around safety.

“However, we want to keep away from the blame game between Labour and the Conservatives, We need to refocus our energy on smaller-scale projects that can have a big impact – for example, improving the safety of travel east to west by improving junctions and crossings, and tackling the choke points in Berwick, Alnwick and Morpeth.”

Haltwhistle’s Reform candidate, Adam Howells, said his party would look to cut unnecessary spending at County Hall if they took power.

He said: “I think in general, one of the things we’re looking at is going into the county council and looking at where spending is not required and where we’re wasting council money.

“I think, rather than make blanket promises, at this point we’re going to have to look at where the priorities and pressures on spending are going to be in the future. That includes the A1 dualling.”

Coun Wearmouth pointed out that the A1 dualling would be a national government project as opposed to one at county council level.