Felton Village Experiences Significant Increase in A1 Rat-Running Traffic Following Dualling Cancellation

A recent survey indicates that thousands of vehicles are utilizing a village as an alternative route to bypass the A1. Specifically, over the August bank holiday weekend, Northumberland County Council documented more than 3,000 cars and lorries passing through Felton on a single day, a figure exceeding the average by more than five times. This issue has prompted a meeting between local community groups and National Highways, convened after the cancellation of plans to dual the A1. Adam MacDonald, Chair of Felton Parish Council, stated: “There is no hope of an easy solution, but we would like to see something done.” A project to dual a 13-mile (21km) section of the A1 had received final approval from the then-Conservative government in May, but was subsequently cancelled by the new Labour government as part of last month’s Budget. Glen Sanderson, leader of Northumberland County Council, described this decision as “very disappointing,” attributing it to the fact that “problems are caused by trying to escape the southbound jams.” He further noted: “It’s an obvious danger to residents in a small village because the roads and infrastructure weren’t built for hundreds of HGVs.” MacDonald commented that the traffic situation was “certainly getting worse” and offered “no hope of improvement now.” He elaborated: “It’s the big lorries that are the problem and we would certainly like to see signs saying the route is not suitable for HGVs.” MacDonald recounted an incident: “One bank holiday we had bunting up in the village and it got caught on the top of one of the HGVs and all came down.” Sanderson indicated that addressing the volume of HGVs “would not be straightforward” due to the road’s function as a through route “which provides local access.” He concluded: “We do need to raise these concerns nationally, though, to try and support those living in our communities along the route of the A1 now dualling is no longer happening.”