Concern that A1 tailbacks tempting frustrated drivers to take rat-runs through Northumberland village

Concerns have been raised that drivers, including HGVs, are increasingly using villages off the A1, particularly during busy times, to avoid traffic jams.

Traffic data from the council’s own monitoring surveys highlight Felton as a key pinch point.

During the August Bank Holiday Weekend this year, a traffic survey on Felton Main Street recorded 3,353 vehicles passing through southbound, including 286 HGVs. This compares with 787 the following Wednesday, with 80 of those HGVs.

The county council is to meet National Highways representatives, along with colleagues from Felton and Thirston Parish Councils, to see what, if anything, can be done to alleviate the issue.

Plans to dual eight miles of the route between Morpeth and Felton and a further five miles between Alnwick and Ellingham were recently scrapped by the Government.

Council leader Glen Sanderson said: “I think everyone in the county was disappointed with the news that the A1 dualling would not be taken forward, but it’s having an increasing impact on both the communities and the roads in some of our villages.

“We’ve seen five times as many vehicles driving one way along Felton High Street on one Bank Holiday day than we might on a normal work day – and a lot of that is drivers trying to escape the southbound jams on the A1 which are becoming a regular occurrence due to the congestion caused at the point where the dual carriageway goes back down to a single lane.

“The significant increase in traffic is an obvious danger to residents in a small village, and the roads and infrastructure weren’t built for hundreds of HGV movements travelling through each day.

“Unfortunately tackling the number of HGVs through imposing traffic restrictions would not be straightforward as this is a through route and provides local access so would be difficult to enforce.

“We do need to raise these concerns nationally though to see what measures can be considered to support those living in our communities along the route of the A1.”