Transport Infrastructure: North-east England

Lord Cormack Excerpts

Monday 23rd January 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the noble Lord is correct in his description of the history of this project. The interim Regional Transport Board for the North East recommended to the Government in 2006 that proposals for the A1 Adderstone to Belford and Al Morpeth to Felton schemes were not funding priorities for the period up to 2016. The department therefore did not have a scheme to consider for the autumn Statement. However, it is good news that the Government have decided that that section of road is of national importance.

[Lord Cormack]

My Lords, as we rightly attach so much importance to the United Kingdom and its preservation, is there not an unanswerable case for making the high road to Scotland, and indeed the high road to England, a fully dual-carriageway road of national importance?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I thought that someone would ask me a devolution question. There are very good road connections from the highly developed conurbation on Tyneside—Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead—but that is via the M6 corridor up through Carlisle. The journey time by car is shorter via Carlisle than it is via Berwick-upon-Tweed.