A recent Chronicle article sets out an apparent ‘huge desire’ from Northumberland residents to see the A1 dualled, but is there really such a huge call for it?
Dualling the A1 is poorly supported.
Going back to 8th March 2012, a petition by Anne-Marie Trevelyan, later MP for Berwick Upon Tweed to ‘DUAL THE A1 FROM MORPETH TO THE SCOTTISH BORDER‘ closed after six months of being open, having attracted only 624 signatures in those six months. Since then, there have been several promises by a range of Governments to dual sections of the road and none have come to fruition.
At the most recent election, it is also important to note that the winning candidate for the new North Northumberland seat, David Smith MP of Labour stood on a neutral platform for dualling the A1, while the former MP for Berwick, amongst other candidates stood for dualling, suggesting that the voters in North Northumberland don’t actually want the A1 dualled that strongly.
Greater support for rail investment?
In contrast, the Northumberland Coast Loop petition, at the time of writing, has 697 signatures since its launch on 5th October 2023, which suggests stronger support for the Northumberland Coast Loop than dualling the A1.
During his passionate and well-delivered maiden speech on September 4th 2024, David Smith, MP for North Northumberland made multiple references to the East Coast Main Line which runs through his constituency, with major stations at Morpeth, Alnmouth and Berwick all recieving a mention, with its magnificent views of one of the most beautiful places in England, with not a single reference made to the A1.
Dualling the A1 should, perhaps be laid to rest as a project of the past, to meet our climate objectives as set out today in a speech by David Lammy from Kew Gardens, we surely cannot commit to dualling when CO² emissions of 1.44m tonnes would be attached to it?
The UK, and many other nations are increasingly moving to a green economy, manufacture of renewable energy infrastructure is a key part of the future for the Blyth Estuary area, surely the transport network serving that area should also be as green as possible?
The Northumberland Line is a welcome first step, but the Northumberland Coast Loop could be the next stage in better connectivity around a much wider area of Northumberland.
Based on strong evidence from the East Coast Mainline Authorities, expansion of the role of the ECML and connected lines is a much more assured path to economic growth, with figures from their document suggesting per £1 invested, it generates upto £2.73 in wider economic benefits (see image below).
The A1, by contrast, would bring far less investment back, and indeed risks a loss being made with a benefit-cost ratio as low as 0.8, which means for each £1 invested, it may result in as little as 80p returned.
If you’d like to support our petition before it closes, please visit it here and add you signature: Northumberland Coast Loop Petition.
The Northumberland Coast Loop 