Northumberland A1 dualling fight will go on despite minister's 'unrealistic expectations' warning
Northumberland’s council leader says the region’s resolve to get the A1 dualled will not be diminished by a continuing lack of commitment from the Government.
The long-standing campaign to upgrade the busy road through Northumberland has been reignited in recent weeks, following a tragic spate of deadly incidents.
Six people were killed in three separate accidents on the A1 in May and June, prompting renewed calls for Labour ministers to reconsider a dualling project that was cancelled in 2024.
North East MPs urged the Government to rethink its decision to cancel dualling of 13 miles of the A1 from Morpeth to Ellingham during a debate in the House of Commons.
But transport minister Simon Lightwood said he did not want to “raise unrealistic expectations” and repeated the view that the dualling of the A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham was “a comparatively weak value-for-money proposition when assessed against competing investment priorities”.
Northumberland County Council leader Glen Sanderson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the response was “completely predictable and in no way does it slacken our resolve on the latest bid”.
He added: “I think the resolve is absolutely as strong as it was and, to that end, we have taken on some extra resources within the council – even though it is not a council road – and we are putting together evidence, data, and statistics which will build into a file which we will give to National Highways in September.
“We are not just ringing our hands and saying ‘isn’t this terrible’ and then playing the party political card. We are taking positive steps to change minds, change the road, and change its dreadful safety record.
“Northumberland has changed hugely over the last 40 years and the A1 is now wholly inadequate for the level of traffic there is and the importance our county holds. The effect of it being over capacity is long congestion, which is completely unacceptable for the major road between England and Scotland.
“We are not going to be put off by what happened in Parliament. We are going to continue to fight because of the people who have suffered and the people who will suffer if we don’t get this road put right. That is my job and that is my promise.”