Haulage firm hits out at A1 dualling decision

The government should rethink its decision to scrap plans to dual the A1, according to the boss of the haulage firm that hosted the announcement of the road scheme ten years ago.

In 2014, Alan Ferguson welcomed ex-Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron to Fergusons Transport in Cramlington to reveal the £290m project.

But after numerous false starts and £67m spent on preparations, the Labour government finally scrapped the scheme between Morpeth and Ellingham, in Northumberland, calling it "unfunded and unaffordable".

Mr Ferguson said: "It's wasteful just to cancel it and throw that money away."

National Highways was due to deliver the project on behalf of the Department for Transport and properties along the route were bought up, but it was postponed three times by the previous Conservative government.

When Cameron visited the firm's depot a decade ago, he had told the BBC: "Woe betide any politician that tried to stop the great green light that’s been given today."

Mr Ferguson, executive chairman of the haulage company, called the decision to put a stop light on the scheme "disappointing", adding: "It’s been promised for years.

"It’s a major route up to Scotland. It connects the likes of Edinburgh to Newcastle and it’s an important road."

The company, which employs more than 300 staff and has about 150 vehicles, hoped a dualled A1 would speed up deliveries and reduce delays to the supply chain.

“[Currently], the queues can be quite enormous and often you’re down to between nought and 10 miles per hour on the roads," he said.

"That’s not good for the environment, you're burning a lot of fuel unnecessarily."

He added: "We still need it to happen, even though they’ve made the announcement, they’ve got to rethink it at some point."

Homeowners whose properties have been purchased by National Highways for the scheme said it would be "criminal not to go ahead" with the plans after disrupting lives, but others say they are "disgusted" by the money already spent.

David Smith, Labour MP for North Northumberland, defended the government's decision to scrap the scheme.

"I'm disappointed that this unfunded and un-costed commitment was promised for so long by the Conservative government, despite them never having either the money nor the intention to deliver the proposed project," he said after the decision was announced.

He added he would be meeting with the transport secretary to discuss improving the A1's safety record throughout Northumberland.