The Government has delayed a long-awaited decision on whether to dual the A1 in Northumberland by another nine months.
In a move sure to provoke huge frustration among many in the North East, ministers now say that a verdict on whether or not to upgrade a 13-mile section of the key route between Morpeth and Ellingham will not be delivered until next autumn. The delay to September 5, 2023, is the third time that a decision has been pushed back on an issue that has been campaigned on for decades.
A resolution on whether to proceed with the project had been due in January of this year, but was held back until June and then again to December. After that latest deadline for a verdict passed on Monday without any announcement from the Department for Transport, news of yet another setback was confirmed to MPs on Tuesday.
