North East leaders say dualling the A1 through Northumberland must be a top priority after the Government pledged to reform the Green Book, the framework used to assess the business case for spending plans around the UK. The pledge came as part of Chancellor John Healey's Budget.
Critics have long argued that the Green Book favours London and the South East over the North East and other regions. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised changes to help “previously overlooked places” make their case and secure backing from Whitehall.
Scheme dropped in 2024
Plans to dual 13 miles of single carriageway sections of the A1 from Morpeth to Ellingham, estimated to cost more than £500 million, were dropped by Labour in 2024 amid claims that they did not offer value for money.
A series of tragedies this year, in which eight people have been killed on the A1 in Northumberland, have prompted renewed pleas for the Government to revisit the scheme and dual the busy route all the way to the Scottish border. The latest announcements have prompted further hope that the dualling vision can be put firmly back on the table and secure the national backing it needs.
Local leaders respond
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said after Wednesday's Budget: “I've been pushing for a change in the rules on how the Government decides what schemes represent value for money because for decades those rules have been holding our region back. The badly-needed upgrade of the A1 is just one scheme that matters enormously to local people but which has been trapped in out-dated Treasury rules that favour the south.
“I'm delighted to hear the Prime Minister has listened and those rules are going to change. A decision on dualling the A1 still lies with the Government, but by winning a change in the rules we are a step closer to success in our fight.”
Glen Sanderson, the leader of Northumberland County Council, said that any change to the Green Book rules that could help the A1 dualling case was “obviously welcome”. The council is hoping to release findings soon from a new study providing “even more compelling” evidence for the business case.
The Conservative councillor said: “Anything that opens the door a bit more, no matter how little, is hugely welcome. The A1 is absolutely the key roads priority for the whole of the nation, in my view.”
Government's new framework
The Government said last week that a new framework would “help generate new place-based business cases which will put local priorities at the heart of investment decisions, looking at a place's potential for growth and what is needed to unlock it and making sure places previously overlooked for investment are properly considered”.
Mr Burnham said: “Communities have been let down for years by outdated rules that haven't properly looked at what's needed to unlock their potential. That's why we're changing the system so that local priorities are put at the heart of decision making.”
