A1 Northumberland: Morpeth to Ellingham dualling

On 24 May 2024 National Highways obtained a Development Consent order for approximately 13 miles of upgrades to the A1.

The works include, amongst other things, the widening of the A1 from a single lane to dual-carriageway as well as a bypass with new junctions and bridges. This scheme is part of a continuing strategy to reduce congestion and delays, improve safety for road users and facilitate economic growth in the area.

More information about the scheme can be found via the National Highways website.

This project is notable for a number of reasons:

• there is no published start date for the project, nor an estimate end date, nor an estimate cost of the scheme. This is atypical for projects which obtain consent via the DCO process.
• the timeline of this particular application and decision.

In the first instance the scheme was first mooted more than 15 years ago. It took over a decade for a formal application to be made which eventually happened in summer 2020.

The DCO process is meant to be streamlined with the whole process usually lasting 15 months from submission of an application. In simple terms, the process normally consists of an application being made and the Planning Inspectorate thereafter have 28 days to decide whether or not to accept it. There is then a 6-month period for the Planning Inspectorate to examine an application, with a further 3-month period for the Inspectorate to make a recommendation to the Secretary of State i.e. to refuse the application, accept it, or accept it with modifications. The Secretary of State then has a further period of 3 months in which to issue a decision i.e. make the Order, with or without modifications, or not.

Here, the application was received on 7 July 2020 and accepted for Examination on 4 August 2020 – nothing unusual about that. The Examination began on 5 January 2021 and was completed on 5 July 2021 – again, the usual 6-month period and, aside from a slower start, entirely normal (especially given those dates straddle National lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic). On the usual timetable the Secretary of State decision was due in early January 2022.

What then followed was a series of delays to the decision for consideration of various matters, notably environmental and connectivity issues, with a 5-month extension, then a 6-month extension with both then followed by two 9-month extensions in 2022 and 2023 respectively. It is possible under the Planning Act to extend the deadline for a decision of a DCO application but is a requirement for a Statement to be made for Parliament announcing the new deadline. The final deadline for a decision became 5 June 2024 and, as such, this deadline has been met – albeit nearly 3 years after the close of the Examination.

This particular scheme has thus been plagued with considerable delay and has undoubtedly caused much uncertainty for affected parties and local residents and businesses.

If you are a landowner, resident or business affected by this scheme, Holmes & Hills LLP has a specialist team of compulsory purchase lawyers able to assist.