Budget 2024: A1 dualling in Northumberland scrapped as Labour brands plan 'unaffordable'
by Daniel Holland · ChronicleLiveLabour has scrapped plans to dual the A1 in Northumberland.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget confirmed on Wednesday that the Government will not go ahead with the proposal to upgrade a 13-mile stretch of single carriageway between Morpeth and Ellingham, which has been the subject of a long campaign. Documents published after the Chancellor’s address to the House of Commons revealed that the Department for Transport had deemed the scheme “unfunded and unaffordable”.
The dualling of the busy route has been the subject of lengthy debate since the 1990s, but has never come to fruition. The previous Conservative Government delayed a decision multiple times on whether the project would be allowed to go ahead, before finally promising to deliver it in a surprise announcement before July’s general election.
There has been uncertainty over whether Labour would back the dualling vision, amid a review of “unfunded” spending projects it said had been left behind by the Tories, and it has now been confirmed that the scheme has been axed. Guy Renner-Thompson, a Tory councillor in Northumberland and the party's former North East mayoral candidate, called the decision "shameful".
While Ms Reeves did not mention the A1 in her Budget speech, a Government document published afterwards confirms: “As part of the government’s commitment to growth, it will take difficult decisions where there is not a clear value for money case to invest. After a review the Transport Secretary has decided not to progress with the following unfunded and unaffordable road schemes on the strategic road network: A5036 Princess Way, A358 Taunton to Southfields, M27 J8 Southampton, the A47 Great Yarmouth Vauxhall Roundabout and A1 Morpeth to Ellingham.”
David Smith, the newly-elected Labour MP for North Northumberland, said he was "disappointed and frustrated" by the news, but blamed the Conservatives for the dualling plan's downfall. He said: "Despite repeated announcements, there has never been £290m for dualling the A1. Instead we spent years waiting on unfunded and unaffordable promises. How can you build a road without the money to do it?"
Vowing to now seek to improve safety on the A1 through different measures, Mr Smith added: "In the weeks and months ahead I’m looking forward to engaging with the Government on how to make the road safer for North Northumberland residents. This will include highlighting the junctions and stretches of the road which are most problematic, and pressing for further funding to enable these to be upgraded to become safer. If there is a silver lining to ending 14 years of Conservative foot-dragging, it’s that we can now apply a safety focus to the whole stretch of the A1 throughout Northumberland again, and not just the 13 miles between Morpeth to Ellingham."
More to follow.
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