Ministry staff told to stop work on A1 plan

DEPARTMENT for Transport staff were ordered to stop working on plans to dual the Al in Northumberland back in 2021 - three years before it was approved by the Conservative Government, leaked documents have revealed.

- JAMES ROBINSON Local Democracy Reporter

The report stated the decision was not made public - and by the time approval was given in 2024, estimated costs had almost doubled.

The current Government has since cancelled the project, branding it poor value for money. The total cost of dualling 13 miles of the road between Morpeth and Ellingham was put at more than £500m.

The Tories were also criticised for the timing of the decision, coming after the General Election was called and with Labour well ahead in the polls ahead of a historic landslide.

Leading Conservative councillors in Northumberland have been heavily critical of the decision to scrap the project, which was taken last autumn.

The DfT report, which has been seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service and verified by Government officials, states that the project was “escalated” in 2020 despite it being described as low value for money. When assessed by Government criteria, the scheme had a benefit-cost ratio of 0.95, meaning the costs outweighed the benefits.

Subsequently, during the 2021 Spending Review the funding for the scheme was “withdrawn” and the plan was “deprioritised” The report adds: “The funding decision was not made public, but we instructed National Highways to cease work on the scheme.”