Representation by Tom Lloyd
- Date submitted
- 25 September 2020
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I am writing on behalf of around 10,000 coastal community residents of Amble, Warkworth, Hauxley, Hadston, Broomhill, Red Row and Widdrington, who all currently join the A1 southbound at Causey Bridge, which is by far the busiest junction between Morpeth and Felton. Frustratingly, Highways England (HE) propose to ignore this junction with their off-line A1, in favour of one at Fenrother, requiring us to use 2 miles of old A1 before getting access to only 2 miles of the new dual carriageway. Amble commuters to Tyneside and beyond already frustratingly have to give way at both Chevington junctions to LESS trafficked roads, and the proposed arrangement will just add THIRD and FOURTH examples along the old A1, which will clearly take far less traffic than that generated by our communities. It will mean more gear changes/pollution and probably MORE TIME - an appalling return for the millions about to be spent. To summarise, I propose a simple relocation of the proposed Fenrother junction 2 miles north at Causey Bridge, that would dramatically improve all these journey times at minimal cost difference, with obvious advantages as follows :- • time saved for all southbound residents from all our communities • less pollution/ noise from all southbound residents from all our communities (ie a quieter time for Tritlington First School) • more even spacing of junctions along the new A1 (5.5/4km instead of 2.5/7km from Highlaw to Felton) improving driver reaction times and diversion options/ network resilience • faster X15 bus timings, although Tritlington (which would need new bus stops anyway as the recently built laybys are south of the proposed junction) would need layby bus stops close to the Fenrother overbridge to keep its service I attended a consultation at Longhorsley, registered and wrote to Highways England to explain these issues, but have never received a satisfactory explanation of why Fenrother is preferred to Causey Bridge as the only junction between Highlaws and Felton. I suspect HE have only considered the needs of communities within a mile or two of the A1, which their choice of public consultation locations in 2018 bears out - - Tritlington, Felton and Longhorsley, whose combined populations we easily outnumber. I am writing as a retired civil engineer who just wants to see good logical design and an improvement to my still regular journeys to Newcastle, neither of which are achieved by the current proposed junction locations. I put the case to Amble Town Council, who were also persuaded enough to send a similar objection to HE July 2018, so I am NOT alone ! TCL 25 Sep 2020