CAMPAIGNERS seeking to dual the A1 have launched a new petition as they enter the next phase of their battle.

In the run-up to the General Election last year, the Conservatives promised to make the delay-hit route a national priority, and ministers kick-started a consultation on the upgrade shortly after taking power in the coalition.

Now that campaigners have successfully fought for the road north of Morpeth to be counted as a route of national strategic importance, they have to make the case again as they bid for funding from the new pot.

A1 campaigner Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a Berwick parliamentary candidate for the Tories, is now gathering evidence to ensure the road stands the best chance of winning funding. She said: “Last year Transport Secretary Philip Hammond changed the criteria for receiving upgrade funding so that now it is not just based on congestion, which we have, but also on the economic need for improvements.

“That wider context gives us a chance to make our case with as strong an evidence base as possible.

“That means we in the North East have to show ministers that businesses are taking traffic around the west of the country to get to Scotland, with costs of up to 25% more, because the A1 is not up to it.

“One of the tools we have here is the Government’s e-petition website, and I would urge all those using the road, and especially those businesses who say they can’t use the road, to sign the petition. We have to keep up the pressure.”

Earlier this year the Government was told it could upgrade the route for considerably less than others across the UK.

The cost of bringing vital North East roads such as the A1 up to minimum safety standards, which campaigners say would include dualling, would be the equivalent of just £7 per person in the North East.

For the South West, the most expensive region, the figure rises to £17, according to a report by the Road Safety Foundation and the RAC Foundation. However, the A1 north of Morpeth is just one of a series of infrastructure projects which businesses say are in desperate need of investment.

High up on the list is a series of upgrades to junctions on the A19 near the Tyne Tunnel. A multi-million pound improvement programme was cancelled by the coalition as part of its cuts to public spending.

Also ruled out of cash support for the foreseeable future was a section of the A1 north of Yorkshire, which would have provided a motorway-standard road from the South to Newcastle.

To sign the petition go to www.dualtheA1.com/petition

We have to show businesses are taking traffic around the west of the country to get to Scotland