A council study puts the benefit of dualling the A1 from Morpeth to Ellingham up by £200m to £225m. It says seven people have been killed on that stretch in 2026.
A new study says dualling the A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham would be worth £200m to £225m more than previously counted. Northumberland County Council published the findings on Friday 6 November.
The study also says the stretch has its worst casualty record for ten years. Seven people have been killed on it in 2026. The council says that is one fewer than the previous nine years combined.
The figures are in the council’s own announcement (New A1 study identifies dualling could bring millions more in benefits). The study itself has not been published.
What the study found
The council says an earlier appraisal already put the overall benefits of dualling at around £280m at today’s prices. That covered journey time savings and fewer accidents.
The new work adds a measure called driver frustration. The council says it borrows the method from a study used for the A9 dualling in Scotland. It is based on three things:
- how much oncoming traffic a driver meets
- how far below their desired speed they are travelling
- how many lorries are in the traffic ahead
Drivers put a value on avoiding those conditions, the council says, so a smoother journey can be counted as an economic benefit. On that basis the study puts the extra benefit at £200m to £225m over 60 years.
Other figures in the announcement:
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Earlier appraisal of overall benefits | about £280m, at today’s prices |
| New driver frustration benefit | £200m to £225m over 60 years |
| People killed, Morpeth to Ellingham, 2026 | 7 |
| People killed on the same stretch, previous nine years | 8 in total (one more than 2026 alone) |
| Vehicles a day | more than 21,000 |
| Traffic growth, 2018 to 2025 | over 6% |
The council compares that growth with a 2.5% rise in traffic nationally.
What the council and the Mayor said
The council’s leader, Glen Sanderson, said the study “clearly demonstrates to the Government why the Business Case for dualling is now more compelling than ever.”
He added: “Northumberland is thriving, but our main road through the county isn’t fit for purpose.”
He said the study shows “up to half a billion pounds of benefits could be generated”. Added together, the earlier £280m and the new £200m to £225m come to about £480m to £505m.
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: “Lives are being lost and although the solution, dualling the road, is obvious to everyone, action still isn’t being taken.” She said she would “continue to push for a resolution”.
The decision on dualling rests with the Government, not the council. The announcement does not say when a decision is expected.
What it means for you
Nothing changes on the road yet. The study is the council’s case to ministers, not a plan with a start date.
If you use the A1 north of Morpeth, the stretch through Felton, Alnwick and up to Ellingham remains a mix of single and dual carriageway. Current A1 night closures in the county are on our Northumberland roadworks page, which we update every week.
The earlier appraisal of the scheme is on the Government’s website (A1 Morpeth to Ellingham: Appraisal Summary Table, PDF).
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