Asked by Lord Beith To ask Her Majesty’s
Government when they expect work to begin on the construction of
new sections of dual carriageway on the A1 in Northumberland. Lord
Beith (LD) My Lords, I thank the Lord Speaker for the clarity
of his statement and beg leave to ask the Question standing in
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Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect work to
begin on the construction of new sections of dual
carriageway on the A1 in Northumberland.
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(LD)
My Lords, I thank the Lord Speaker for the clarity of his
statement and beg leave to ask the Question standing in my
name on the Order Paper.
-
(Con)
My Lords, as set out in the road investment strategy of
December 2014, construction of the A1 dualling schemes
between Morpeth and Ellingham is expected to commence in
2020. This is subject to completion of statutory planning
processes and continuing to demonstrate value for money.
The A1 in Northumberland programme will also benefit from a
package of smaller-scale junction improvements, overtaking
lanes and pedestrian improvements north of Ellingham. These
are planned to start construction in 2018.
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I thank the Minister for his reply and ask him if it is the
view of Her Majesty’s Government that there should be a
continuous dual-carriage A1 from London to the Scottish
border. He indicated in his response, and perhaps he will
now confirm, that although the commitment was made by the
coalition Government in 2014 for substantial extra
dualling, it will probably not start until after the next
general election.
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I applaud the persistence of the noble Lord in raising over
many years the issue of upgrading the A1 up to what I
believe is his old constituency in Berwick. I reassure him
that it is very much part of the plan to dual the road
right up to the border, but he will be aware that these
road plans can be very complicated and need to be done in
stages. This programme will start in 2020 and is due to be
completed on time and on budget by 2023.
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(Con)
My Lords, the upgrading of the A1 would have a hugely
beneficial effect on bringing about the northern
powerhouse, which we are all keen to happen. But equally
the A69, which is the link road between Carlisle and
Newcastle, is appalling as it goes down to 16 feet wide at
Warwick Bridge. If that road was improved, a huge amount of
the Scottish and Irish traffic currently going further down
the country would cross over to Newcastle, revitalising the
port there and bringing real additional prosperity to the
city, just as the A1 does to the area. I hope that this
upgrade will also be considered a high priority.
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My noble friend makes a good point. Of course we are
talking about the A1, but this is all part of the new
interconnectivity up in the north and the north-east. We
are bringing forward junction improvements on the A69 which
should be complete by 2020. Every key junction on the A69
between Hexham and the A1 at Newcastle will be grade
separated.
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(Lab)
My Lords, I urge the Minister to act more swiftly in the
dualling of the A1. People have campaigned for this for 20
or even 30 years and there is huge public support in the
region for it, partly on safety grounds because of the
number of head-on collisions given the confusing mixture of
single and dual carriageways, partly on economic grounds to
help an area of the country that would very much welcome
such an economic boost, and partly on political grounds
given that most of us welcome the fact that Scotland voted
to remain part of the union. The A1 is a hugely important
communications route between both London and Scotland and
Northumberland and the Scottish borders.
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The noble Baroness is absolutely correct and I stress again
that we are on time with this project. However, she will know
that these major road schemes have to go through particular
stages, including strong consultation. We have consulted on
both stretches—the dualling and the improvements north of
Ellingham. Along with the improvements from Morpeth up to
Ellingham, a development consent order with statutory
timescales is required, so there are some necessary steps to
go through to be sure that we do this work effectively.
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(Con)
My Lords, while warmly supporting the Question asked by the
noble Lord, , I will follow up the
supplementary put by my noble friend . Will my noble friend
on the Front Bench refute a comment made to me some years ago
by the then spokesman for my party in this House on
transport, in response to a supplementary question, that it
was quicker to go from Newcastle to Edinburgh via Carlisle?
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I am not sure that I am in a position to comment on something
that was said many years ago, but speed is of the essence
here. When we complete this particular upgrade of the A1 on
time, freight, tourists, locals and everyone else who wants
to use the road will at last be able more speedily to reach
the border—and I hope beyond, but that is up to the Scottish
Government.
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(LD)
On that last point, would the Minister be kind enough to
consult his opposite number in the Scottish Government, Mr
Yousaf, with a view to making sure that the benefit of these
works extends right the way to Edinburgh?
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The noble Lord is absolutely right and I can confirm that
consultation is going on. We are very much hoping for, but
have no influence over, the decision that the Scottish
Government will make.
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(Lab)
The Minister said that the project will start in 2020. Could
he explain why the Highways England website shows the start
date as “TBC”, which could be “transparent broken commitment”
but I assume means “to be confirmed”? Why does the Minister
have a different view of the start date from Highways
England?
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I will have to check the website, but I confirm that we are
on track to start this project in 2020. I can perhaps add a
bit more gravitas to that by saying that the consultation
process, which finished at the end of last year, is also on
track. We are looking at the views expressed by those who
contributed to that process. The next stage will happen very
quickly and the decision will be made in late spring or early
summer.
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(Con)
Is my noble friend aware that in 1966 I made a vain attempt
to reduce the majority of 24,000 of Emanuel Shinwell in
Easington on one issue: the A1 north of Scotch Corner? Can we
at least build the road to some sort of higher standard up to
the Scottish border, where its pristine condition no doubt
comes compliment of the English taxpayer?
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I think I made clear earlier that that is the intention. We
are going full steam ahead in dualling the road up to
Ellingham. North of Ellingham, we are producing the
overtaking lanes. I say again that we cannot do everything in
one go and I stress again that we are on time. But there are
other projects. In fact, there are 112 other projects around
England that we are focusing on. Upgrading the nearby A66 is
one of the important projects we are pushing ahead with.
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(Con)
My Lords, would my noble friend accept that the people of
Northumberland will be very glad to hear that this project is
on target? Will it be possible for him to indicate as early
as possible which of the three routes that have been tested
will be used for the stretch north of Morpeth? I declare an
interest as a landowner over whose ground it will go.
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I reassure my noble friend that the options for the routes
are being looked at now. This is all part of the consultation
process that is under way. It is indeed extremely good news
not just for the locals in Northumberland, but for those
wishing to travel through Northumberland up to the north.
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