A1 Northumberland dualling decision delayed further

A decision on plans to dual the A1 in Northumberland has still not been made despite the government's twice-delayed deadline having been reached.

A statement from the planning inspectorate said that the Secretary of State was still considering the plans.

Liberal Democrat councillor Isabel Hunter, who represents Berwick West with Ord, said she was "disappointed" at the delay.

The Department for Transport has been approached for a comment.

In a written statement to the House of Commons in July, the then-Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed that the deadline for a new decision would be 5 December.

The deadline had already been extended from 5 January then to 5 June.

If approved, the scheme would involve dualling eight miles of the A1 to a dual carriageway between Morpeth and Felton, as well as a further five miles between Alnwick and Ellingham.

It follows decades of campaigning to get the major road dualled throughout the county, with local politicians consistently pointing out that many rural residents have no realistic alternative mode of travel other than the A1, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Ms Hunter said: "I would hope that the government looks at Northumberland favourably, and we get what was supposed to go ahead.

"If it's a no, it says we are forgetting the northern part of England. We're used to that.

"I'm very disappointed that we've still not got an idea to whether it's a yes or no. Just let us know, just put us out of our misery."

Ms Hunter also pointed out that the move would increase road safety. The A1 goes through some of the most rural parts of Northumberland, meaning it is often used by slow farm vehicles.

She added: "That's when accidents happen, because people end up having enough and start taking risks. It's innocent people that get hurt."

Hopes that the project would finally be completed were raised under Liz Truss's brief tenure as Prime Minister.

Berwick MP Anne Marie Trevelyan was made Transport Secretary while Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's mini budget contained a list of infrastructure projects across the country the government wanted to get started on including the dualling of the A1.

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