Renewed calls have been made to upgrade the A1 between England and Edinburgh after a surge in fatalities on single carriageway sections in Northumberland.
The dualling of the main link road between England and Scotland immediately south of the Scottish Border in Northumberland was cancelled after the Westminster budget in October 2024, says The National.
Campaigners have been fighting for decades for improvements to the A1 in Northumberland, but have been let down by a series of “false promises” from successive UK Governments.
They are now “cautiously optimistic” after Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Westminster would look at alternative ways of funding a £500m project to dual a 13-mile stretch after it was abandoned because it was “unaffordable”.
On a visit to Newcastle during his “listening tour” of England and Wales, Burnham admitted the level of transport infrastructure in the region was “not fair” compared with other parts of the country.
He said officials would look into whether a funding package could be put together. His comments have been greeted with “cautious optimism” by Scottish Borders and Northumberland councils.
Scottish Borders Council leader Euan Jardine said that for people and businesses in the Scottish Borders and Northumberland, the A1 was “far more than a line on a map”.
“It is a vital route to jobs, customers, services and markets across Scotland and England,” he said. “Dualling it would deliver safer and more reliable journeys, support stronger supply chains and help unlock greater prosperity on both sides of the border.
“We are ready to support an imaginative and determined approach to moving this long-overdue investment forward.”
SNP Scottish Borders Councillor Aileen Orr said action was needed if lives were to be saved.
“The A1 is the main artery linking London with Edinburgh. It’s an ancient and scenic route but it carries local and national traffic along with tourists, including HGVs and combine harvesters at this moment,” she said. The point north of Alnwick and south of Dunbar are now under pressure as the death toll rises just for this year.
“The only solution is to dual but as it straddles both countries and very rural cash strapped councils, both Governments need to talk and act if lives are to be saved.”
(Picture: Mapillary)
