Latest news with #Morpeth
BBC News
10 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
A1 dualling ignored, Northumberland council leader warns
Northumberland has been forgotten, its council leader has warned, with government funding of £1.85bn for transport schemes in north-east England unlikely to revive the dualling of the half the money will be used to build a Metro line linking Washington with Sunderland and Newcastle, while other schemes include introducing integrated contactless payments across bus and rail dualling of 13 miles (21km) of the A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham was scrapped when Labour came to power last year amid suggestions it would cost £ all, the government is to award £15.6bn to areas across the UK in a move it claims will "make all parts of the country better off". As well as silence on plans for the A1 following Chancellor Rachel Reeves' speech on Wednesday, Councillor Glen Sanderson, the Conservative leader of Northumberland County Council, said he was concerned by the failure to mention other schemes in the area such as the Blyth Relief Road. "It is woefully disappointing that our A1 – now so busy it grinds to a halt regularly – is ignored."This announcement will not help Northumberland grow its economy."It also ignores the vital improvements needed for Moor Farm roundabout, which is an essential job that has to be done if the government want to keep up with the county council's ambition and incredible growth that the council has attracted."The Blyth Relief Road is also ignored." 'Just the start' The outline business case for the relief road was submitted to the Department for Transport for approval in forecasts estimate completion in 2027 with the scheme expected to cost just under £ would provide a direct dual carriageway connection between the A192 Three Horseshoes roundabout and the A193 South Beach in Blyth in a bid to reduce congestion, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. Responding to Sanderson's comments, North East Mayor Kim McGuinness, of Labour, said there would be a "huge amount" of money for "local projects in Northumberland" with the newly announced funding "just the start" for the added: "This is money for local projects which the county council supports and which mean we can push ahead with our ambitious plans to build a fully-integrated transport network the North East can be proud of connecting people to real jobs and new opportunities." Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
28-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
A1 Northumberland: Homes 'left to rot' on cancelled road route
In October 2024 the government announced it was cancelling a project to widen part of the A1 in Northumberland, years after National Highways had spent more than £4m on the purchase of houses and land in the way of the scheme. The affected families - including one couple who had to start afresh miles away in Cumbria - said they had "been through hell" as they saw their properties "left to rot" Wensby-Scott sat in her car and cried on the day she and her husband left Northgate House, which sits right next to the road not far from couple had been packing up the last of their belongings and she was still running the vacuum cleaner around when National Highways contractors arrived."They started boarding up the windows and changing the locks," she said. "I honestly felt like we were being evicted." Melanie and her husband Julian had had "big plans" when they bought the house in 2009. "We put in a new kitchen, new bathrooms, we were planning a new conservatory and we had no intention of ever leaving," she in 2014, the then Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans to dual a 13-mile section of the A1 and it became clear their house was in the path of the chosen route. "When they first came round I said I didn't want to move and they basically said I had no option," said Mrs Wensby-Scott."It was just awful to know you were going to lose your home." The A1 scheme stalled for a few years, alternating between ready to start and still on hold until, in May 2024, Rishi Sunak's government approved the Development Consent Order which gave the final go-ahead. However, Labour swept back into power two months later and cancelled the project in October 2024, stating it had to make "difficult decisions about road schemes which were unfunded or unaffordable". Mrs Wensby-Scott said: "When I heard the news, I just thought 'oh my God all that for nothing'."Everything we went through, the heartache, the angst, I just couldn't believe it. "You drive past now and it's falling apart, it just looks awful. It's such a shame, it was such a beautiful house." At the other end of the proposed route, Felicity and James Hester were living in East Cottage near the village of was a "perfect place" for them because it had a paddock and stabling for their horses, but they soon realised the bulldozers were heading their way. "It was just horrible," Mrs Hester said. "We went through four or five years of utter hell trying to find somewhere we could actually move to, it was just a nightmare. "The way the property market was at the time in Northumberland, we couldn't find anything which matched what we had so we had to move to Cumbria."Now we're a couple of hours away from all the friends we had." Next to East Cottage is Charlton Mires, a large 200-year-old farmhouse and steadings that had been the home of the Beal family since 1904, but would also need to be flattened for road building. Martin Beal described its loss as "very painful". "I felt like I'd let my family down somehow because I couldn't save our home," he said. "There are just so many memories in there."They were also taking part of our land, so I couldn't plan ahead. I had sleepless nights, it was very hard." A freedom of information request by the BBC revealed that more than £68m had already been spent on the A1 scheme by the time it was cancelled, and that figure continues to rise by just under £30,000 a month. That is partly because National Highways is obliged to pay insurance and council tax on the unneeded properties, including an empty house premium. Land agent Louis Fell, who represented the Hester and Beal families, described the situation as "a mess"He said: "I know National Highways didn't make the decision to cancel the road, but they need to have a strategy for the properties, perhaps consider refurbishing them and renting them to young families."For them just to sit here rotting is such a waste of money and it's not a good look for an area popular with tourists." National Highways previously said it was "sympathetic" to Mr Beal's situation after delays to payments for his a statement, it said: "We carefully review expenditure on all our projects to ensure that lessons are learned and processes are improved for any future road improvement schemes."Discussions surrounding the future of the homes purchased as part of this scheme remain ongoing and will be communicated in due course. "The properties are being managed by our estates team until a strategy is agreed."During this time, the properties will be secured by our maintenance contractor and inspected on an appropriate basis." Under what are known as the Crichel Down rules, in situations like this the properties should be offered back to the owners, but all three families say they do not wish to go back to homes which have been empty for several years. Martin Beal said his former home was "full of damp and falling apart". He now has permission to build a new farmhouse nearby but when it is built, because it is a direct replacement for Charlton Mires, planning arrangements mean the original farmhouse has to be demolished at a cost to the taxpayer of an estimated £100,000. "It has been there for 200 years, it's a beautiful house. It is just ridiculous it has to be demolished for nothing," Mr Beal lamented."I'm just so angry about everything my parents and I have been through, and all those millions of pounds wasted for what?" Follow BBC North East on X and Facebook and BBC Cumbria on X and Facebook and both on Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Benefit cuts a 'perfect storm for claimants'
Plans to restrict eligibility for Personal Independence Payments (Pip) are the "perfect storm for every claimant", a recipient of the benefit has warned. Elspeth Oakley, 26, from Morpeth in Northumberland, has received Pip since 2021 for her long term mental health issues and uses it for things like taxis to increase her independence. She said the proposed changes make her "incredibly anxious" and warned that people who are eligible would be put off applying as the process already makes claimants feel like they are "under investigation for a crime they haven't committed". The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is consulting on Pip proposals and encouraged people to take part. The DWP has said it expects about 370,000 current Pip recipients to no longer qualify for the support as a result of changes to eligibility criteria, which could come in from November 2026. Ms Oakley said it felt like the government was "just trying to take away from the most vulnerable in society". "I use my Pip for things that a lot of people would take for granted," she said. That includes £10 for a tube of a specific type of toothpaste that does not trigger sensory overload or cause her physical pain, as well as higher costs for items like ready meals and pre-chopped vegetables. What are the Pip and universal credit changes and who is affected? Ms Oakley said she may not be affected by the changes due to the severity of her condition, but that if it was taken away she would become more isolated. She said: "I don't think there is anybody who claims Pip that isn't feeling anxiety about it because you never know what's going to happen when you're next assessed." It often takes claimants months or years to even apply because of the "mental toll of half the press calling you a scrounger", Ms Oakley said. "We already normalise our difficulties, so increasing the threshold is just going to make it even worse. "It all just feels like they've stopped caring about disabled people." A DWP spokesperson said the government would "encourage everyone to have their voices heard through our consultation to help build a system that works better for all". The review would ensure Pip was "fit for the future", the spokesperson claimed, adding the government is working with "disabled people and key organisations representing them to consider how best to do this ensuring there are safeguards in place to protect the most vulnerable". Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Ex-mining town worst hit by Pip cuts, study claims What are the Pip and universal credit changes and who is affected? Open consultation - Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper
BBC News
18-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Pip benefit cuts a 'perfect storm for claimants'
Plans to restrict eligibility for Personal Independence Payments (Pip) are the "perfect storm for every claimant", a recipient of the benefit has Oakley, 26, from Morpeth in Northumberland, has received Pip since 2021 for her long term mental health issues and uses it for things like taxis to increase her said the proposed changes make her "incredibly anxious" and warned that people who are eligible would be put off applying as the process already makes claimants feel like they are "under investigation for a crime they haven't committed".The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is consulting on Pip proposals and encouraged people to take part. The DWP has said it expects about 370,000 current Pip recipients to no longer qualify for the support as a result of changes to eligibility criteria, which could come in from November Oakley said it felt like the government was "just trying to take away from the most vulnerable in society"."I use my Pip for things that a lot of people would take for granted," she includes £10 for a tube of a specific type of toothpaste that does not trigger sensory overload or cause her physical pain, as well as higher costs for items like ready meals and pre-chopped vegetables. What are the Pip and universal credit changes and who is affected? Ms Oakley said she may not be affected by the changes due to the severity of her condition, but that if it was taken away she would become more said: "I don't think there is anybody who claims Pip that isn't feeling anxiety about it because you never know what's going to happen when you're next assessed."It often takes claimants months or years to even apply because of the "mental toll of half the press calling you a scrounger", Ms Oakley said."We already normalise our difficulties, so increasing the threshold is just going to make it even worse."It all just feels like they've stopped caring about disabled people." A DWP spokesperson said the government would "encourage everyone to have their voices heard through our consultation to help build a system that works better for all".The review would ensure Pip was "fit for the future", the spokesperson claimed, adding the government is working with "disabled people and key organisations representing them to consider how best to do this ensuring there are safeguards in place to protect the most vulnerable". Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
