Transport Infrastructure: Cramlington and Killingworth

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 17th June 2025 Westminster Hall

[Emma Foody (Cramlington and Killingworth) (Lab/Co-op)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered transport infrastructure in Cramlington and Killingworth constituency.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I am pleased to debate this important issue and to see the Minister for future of roads. It will come as no surprise to her that I will take the opportunity to talk about the Moor Farm and Seaton Burn roundabouts in my constituency. We have become pen pals on this issue and I thank her for her responses and for meeting me about it.

I start by warmly welcoming the Government’s recent announcements in the regional growth statement, with £1.8 billion secured for the north-east; the emphasis on delivering capital projects in the spending review; and most importantly, the announcement on the Green Book. That will support transport infrastructure investment in communities such as mine in Northumberland, North Tyneside and Newcastle.

For too long under the Conservatives’ Green Book we were disadvantaged—missing out on the investment we deserve due to outdated formulas. Those recent announcements show a Government committed to long-term growth and investment. I want that to be used to unlock the enormous potential of my communities.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Lady for bringing forward this debate. Before she was elected, she had a scheme that she wished to happen. Now, as an MP, she has the opportunity to push it forward, and she will hopefully get a response from a sympathetic Minister. Does she agree that if that infrastructure is not in place, it will hold back economic growth in her constituency? It is important to move that project forward, because with that every other project can move forward.

[Emma Foody]

I absolutely agree with the hon. Member—it is as if he has seen the key points of my speech. This is a critical piece of infrastructure in my area for all the reasons he said and more.

One such game-changing project for the north-east would be the upgrading of the Moor Farm and Seaton Burn roundabouts. Those who do not know about these roundabouts have never heard me speak in this place, because I talk about them a lot. Moor Farm is a major, strategic six-armed roundabout that links the A19, A1 and A189 and sits to the south of Northumberland, on the border with North Tyneside. This heavily congested and well used roundabout is a key gateway across south-east Northumberland to the Northumbria specialist emergency care hospital in Cramlington and to the new data centre in Cambois that the Government have been pivotal in supporting.

Seaton Burn links Northumberland and North Tyneside to the A1 and on through to Newcastle, as well as providing links to south-west Cramlington, an area of significant housing development, and the villages to the north-west of North Tyneside. These critical pieces of infrastructure form part of the south-east Northumberland corridor, as well being a key link to Blyth, Killingworth in North Tyneside, and Newcastle. Both roundabouts sit on the A19, which is of strategic importance to the north-east more widely, linking to the Port of Tyne, South Tyneside and Sunderland, and to key employment sites such as Cobalt Park, Follingsby Park and the International Advanced Manufacturing Park.

In earlier road investment strategies, Silverlink and Testo’s roundabouts, further south on the A19, have been upgraded. Those earlier works significantly improved traffic flows on the A19 through the north-east to south-east Northumberland. It is now possible to travel north on the A19 from Thirsk in North Yorkshire all the way to south-east Northumberland without hitting an at-grade junction—until Moor Farm roundabout. Surely, now is the time to finish the job and complete the junctions to the end of the A19 at Seaton Burn.

My area has seen significant housing developments in recent years, including estates such as St Nicholas Manor, the Fairways and West Meadows in Cramlington, and Backworth Park in North Tyneside, with future sites including Killingworth Moor and Murton Gap—all of which add pressure to the roundabouts. In 2022, the section of the A19 east of the Seaton Burn junction had an annual average daily flow of 44,300 motor vehicles, while the section of the A19 east of Moor Farm had an annual average daily flow of 33,900.

The result is that the roundabouts are past breaking point. Do not just take my word for it; the Department for Transport’s own statistics show that, between 2021 and 2024, there was an 87% increase in delays through the northbound A19 section of Moor Farm, and a 36% increase southwards. The A19 section of Seaton Burn saw a 31% increase during the same period, which has a knock-on impact on the A1, with an 18% increase in delays joining Seaton Burn on the A1 northbound.