A1 Northumberland dualling delays causing anxiety and frustration

People living beside the A1 say they have been left anxious and frustrated by continued delays over dualling it.

A decision on upgrading a 13-mile stretch between Morpeth and Ellingham, Northumberland, is due next month.

The plan was first raised 15 years ago with the aim of making the road safer and providing a boost to the economy.

Farmers and businesses whose land borders the road said the uncertainty had affected them with one farmer saying "he lies awake at night".

Under the plans Peter Hogg, whose family have farmed at Causey Park since 1854, will see the road cut diagonally through his land, close to his farmhouse and the wooded area he planted in front of it 15 years ago when the proposals were first talked about.

An overhead bridge across his farm is also part of the plans.

He said: "They looked at this a while ago and abandoned the idea before it was resurrected about four years ago.

"It's already two to three years behind schedule and if it gets signed off this winter they're supposed to be coming in to remove the hedges and put the fences up to fence off their strip of land.

"That was supposed to happen three years ago so we started making plans then to rent our fields and we're trying to muddle along, it's just become a nuisance, that's to put it mildly, without swearing."

The 71-year-old admits he is in a minority in not wanting the scheme to go ahead, describing it as "a proper pest". But he said he just wants a decision to be made "once and for all".

On a visit to Northumberland eight years ago former Prime Minister David Cameron announced an A1 upgrade was "vital" to the North East.

He said the £290m plan to part-dual the carriageway north of Newcastle would help rebalance the economy .

Since then a feasibility study has been carried out, plans have been drawn up, negotiations started, contracts signed and lawyers consulted.

The decision to give the go-ahead will be made at the beginning of December by Transport Secretary Mark Harper.

Tim Gamon, regional delivery director for Highways England, said: "We remain confident that our proposals will provide much needed additional capacity, with better connectivity for people and business, and safer journeys for everyone, and we remain committed to delivering these improvements upon receiving a positive decision on the Development Consent Order."

Andrew Byne, who runs the Rocking Horse Cafe, which is about about half a mile from the A1 at the north end of the proposed dualling, does not think the work will happen.

"I think it won't happen for a while, it'll be another can that'll be kicked down the road, kicked again and kicked again," he said.

"It has to be good for the economy to have dualling, because to have the main road from England to Scotland as a single lane is a little bit backward."

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "The review into the A1 Morpeth to Ellingham scheme is still ongoing and further details will be announced in due course."

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