Still hope for A1 as money runs short
Jan 22 2009 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal
TRANSPORT bosses have earmarked £40m to dual a section of the A1 amid warnings that almost no other road projects will win new funding as council costs spiral out of control.
North East planners are believed to have angered civil servants at the Department for Transport by allowing projects to exceed original cost estimates by around £200m.
Schemes such as a new bridge for Sunderland and the A1056 Tyneside Northern Gateway, have already been agreed as part of a £429m North East transport pot by a regional board which has been left with a limited budget for future projects.
Last night Anne-Marie Trevelyan, an A1 campaigner and Conservative candidate for Berwick, said the funding revelations brought mixed messages.
“First it is vital that our councils get more control over their spending.
“But it is good to see the board has finally realised their role is to get the results we have been crying out for.
“Dualling the A1 should be a key aim for the region and it is good to see a step towards that.”
Today’s transport problems stem from the Regional Funding Allocation announced in 2005, which saw a board of politicians, businesses and civil servants decide on the local schemes to recommend for approval by the Government.
The funding agreement provided so popular that last summer ministers okayed an extension of the scheme which would see £650m available for roads, housing and economic development.
But an overspend of previous projects means it is now considering closing the fund to any new projects.
Transport experts say the region faces a difficult choice of either looking again at some projects or only putting through a handful of new proposals if others do not go ahead. One of the new projects being looked at is the A1, which could get £40m for limited dualling if the Government accepts the recommendations.
Northumberland’s deputy leader Roger Styring, who sits on the transport board, said the group was working together to ensure North East schemes get the go ahead. He said: “We have had to cope with overspend issues from the first round but some of these schemes may not go ahead, and that is why we have also considered options available if we have an underspend.
“We have looked at dualling one section of the A1 and that would be part of our recommendations.”
Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority members have raised concerns that there would be no new schemes approved.
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