Reynolds on A1 dualling

The A1 in Northumberland is not up to standard, a senior Labour minister has admitted, writes Local Democracy Reporter, Daniel Holland.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has insisted that the Government understands the mounting level of concern over the longstanding failure to upgrade the road, which has been described as a “national embarrassment” following a series of fatal accidents this year.

It comes after Andy Burnham opened the door last week to a renewed bid to dual the notorious route.

Previous plans to dual 13 miles worth of single carriageway on the A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham were cancelled by Labour in 2024, after it was deemed that the £500 million scheme was not value for money.

After six people were killed in three separate crashes in May and June, there have since been renewed calls for the Government to commit to dualling the A1 up to the Scottish border.

As well as the major safety worries, local leaders have argued that the A1’s lack of capacity is a major barrier to business growth and tourism in Northumberland.

Mr Reynolds, a North East native who grew up in Houghton-le-Spring, admitted on Tuesday that the state of the A1 “feels sort of inappropriate” – though he stopped short of promising Whitehall backing for the dualling vision.

The business secretary, speaking on a visit to County Durham, added: “There is a safety, an economic, and a business case. I know it feels, for people around here, so incongruent that such a significant transport corridor is not of a standard that we would expect. I really do, personally and from a ministerial point of view, understand the case here.

“The roads budget has come under some pressure because of the need to raise defence spending. That has put a lot of worthy projects into a difficult position.

“But I would echo what the Prime Minister said, we do understand this… when we talk about business and economic opportunities, infrastructure is a key part of that. The government changed the fiscal rules to put more money into infrastructure, which we are starting to see the effects of.

“I would love to be able to be in a position to make promises, [but] I can’t on that. I can say yes, from the Prime Minister downwards, people understand what this means – the concerns about the economic impact and the safety impact as well.” 

Northumberland County Council has complained that some £68.4 million had already been spent on dualling preparations before the project was cancelled in 2024.

The authority has also committed £20,000 to fund evidence gathering to support the case for dualling, as the number of accidents has continued to rise this summer. 

Mr Burnham said last week that his No 10 North operation would work with North East mayor Kim McGuinness to seek an “alternative way” to fund the A1 upgrades.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Conservative county council leader Glen Sanderson  described the A1 as “both a danger to life and a brake on our economic potential”. 

He argued that other planned safety improvements on the A1, the details of which are yet to be announced, would not “address fully the issues of overcapacity and lack of dual carriageway”.