Council leader calls for assurances over A1 dualling

There is "an absolute need" for the government to stick to its plans to dual the A1, the leader of Northumberland County Council said.

Councillor Glen Sanderson told BBC Radio Newcastle he wanted the new prime minister to bring about "sufficient discipline, grip and understanding" at the top.

He welcomed new appointments to the Cabinet with Grant Shapps as Business Secretary and Michael Gove as Levelling Up Secretary.

Mr Sanderson said he was keen to speak to Mr Gove about the devolution deal for the north east of England which would see councils united.

A campaign has been running for 30 years to see the A1 dualled

It is almost eight years since former prime minister David Cameron announced an A1 upgrade was "vital" to the North East.

Visiting Northumberland in December 2014, Mr Cameron said the £290m plan to part-dual the carriageway north of Newcastle would help rebalance the economy in the region.

Berwick-upon-Tweed MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan was elected to Parliament in 2015, with one of her pledges to dual 13 miles of the route between Morpeth and Ellingham.

As Transport Secretary under Liz Truss' Ms Trevelyan's appointment in September sparked optimism the work would be accelerated. Earlier former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps put off a final decision on the A1 until December.

But now Ms Trevelyan is out of the transport department - replaced by Mark Harper in Rishi Sunak's cabinet.

"Another slippage in time"

However Mr Sanderson is confident the A1 work will go ahead and he is hopeful Ms Trevelyan will continue to lobby MPs.

He said: "I would be incredibly disappointed if there was another slippage in time, I very much hope there won't be, as there is an absolute need for a safe route for our residents and businesses between Scotland and England. It must happen."

The Conservative council leader is also optimistic about familiar faces returning to cabinet, who he says have experience of the region and its infrastructure.

"One is Grant Shapps who knows of the Northumberland Line, the rail link opening between Newcastle and south east Northumberland, and the other is Michael Gove on levelling up and how the devolution deal could affect us."

He added the Northumberland authority needed "some guidance and assistance quickly" from the government because the devolution deal was "drifting along" and it needed to be "sorted out".