Darling gives the A1 the hard shoulder
Oct 10 2007 by William Green, The Journal
THE Chancellor was yesterday slammed for snubbing crucial upgrades to the A1 while handing cash to widen other regions’ motorways and transform London’s railway.
Business chiefs, campaigners and regional politicians have backed desperately-needed improvements to the A1 Western bypass and fully dualling the A1 through Northumberland to boost safety and the economy.
But Alistair Darling yesterday told MPs that transport spending would rise to £14.5bn a year by 2010 – with cash ploughed into widening the M1 and M6 motorways as he outlined the Government’s three-year spending plans – with not a penny for the A1.
He also confirmed funding – topping £5bn – for the Crossrail project in London and said it was vital for the country’s economy.
His comments come as the North-East waits to hear whether it will receive Government cash to modernise the Tyne and Wear Metro.
North-East motorists faced another sting as the Chancellor’s spending report confirmed road pricing will be taken forward, as authorities in Tyne and Wear and Durham look at how to cut congestion.
The Department for Transport also said the pledge on widening applied to the M25 around London.
Some £1.3bn a year will go on local and regional schemes across the country and £15bn will be spent introducing longer urban trains and removing pinch points on the rail network over the next five years.
Mr Darling also promised another £200m for national off-peak bus passes for pensioners and the disabled, being introduced next April amid concerns about whether councils will face a funding black hole.
But Berwick Tory Parliamentary candidate Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “As I feared, this Government’s concern for its North-Eastern residents is non-existent.
“I had hoped this review would provide some relief to the road infrastructure from A1 dualling to the Western bypass expansion proposals. The North-East can’t rely on Labour to get the improved road network.”
The North-East Chamber of Commerce said the Government had put the brakes on vital transport investment, warning growth in spending would slow from 4.5% over the last three years to 2.25% until 2018.
Chief executive James Ramsbotham added: “The Government wants the economy to grow but it expects businesses to thrive on a sub-standard transport infrastructure. This comes at a time when our global competitors are pumping money into major transport projects. It is more essential now than ever that public money is used to solve the key strategic transport issues, such as the A1, rather than focusing on a series of minor, localised improvements.”
Blaydon Labour MP Dave Anderson said the announcement did not help, but pledged to keep fighting for the region. “We have to carry on making the case because while these roads may need improvement, so do we and we have got to keep on arguing our corner in Parliament and directly with the Chancellor and the Department for Transport.”
The Government said its spending plans would continue the renewal of the country’s transport network, building on spending increases per head in the North-East of 22% on transport over the last five years.
