Transport Infrastructure: Cramlington and Killingworth

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.

I have touched on the nightmare that the current roundabouts are causing for local people, but it is not only that; as has been mentioned, they are holding back businesses, growth and investment in my communities. That has a direct impact on my constituents’ quality of life, because it puts at risk our ability to support the Government in their missions to deliver on growth and housing. Northumberland county council has warned that improvements to the junctions are critical to future growth aspirations.

“This outdated infrastructure is holding our region back”.

George Smith produces exceptional upholstered furniture from its Cramlington factory, which is sold across the world. It has lost staff due to the frustrations of a commute involving Moor Farm, and said:

“A properly designed and delivered solution at Moor Farm would make a meaningful difference to our ability to attract and retain staff”.

Similarly, RENOLIT is a global family-owned specialist in high-quality plastic films and polymer solutions that is based in Cramlington. It also stressed the importance of delivering upgrades.

What is the cost of missed opportunities? There are the developments and investment that have not come forward, or are being held back, because of concerns that congestion at Moor Farm will lead to applications being blocked or that the mitigation costs are too high. Those missed opportunities are jobs and homes for local people that may be invested elsewhere, or indeed not at all.

I have said before that Moor Farm and Seaton Burn are holding back growth, investment and opportunity, so how can the Government support my region and community in getting those long-overdue upgrades? The Department for Transport and National Highways assessed the business case for the roundabouts in the latest road investment strategy pipeline. Under the previous Conservative Government’s Green Book criteria, they were found to be low or poor value for money. However, this assessment has been challenged by local councils and the North East combined authority, which highlighted that the assessment used traffic data from 2019.

As I said earlier, the Department for Transport’s own figures show that there have been significant increases in delays in recent years, yet that data was not used for the assessment, and the assessment also did not take into account all the housing developments in the pipeline. We are in a Catch-22 situation where only some future developments, whether employment or housing, are being assessed, yet there are business and development opportunities on key sites in Northumberland and North Tyneside that are not being brought forward due to the lack of certainty about whether they will be blocked or incur additional costs due to the roundabouts’ capacity constraints.

We know that assessments of the outcomes of investments in the north-east have significantly undervalued the impact before. Take the recent reopening of the Northumberland line in December 2024. Initially, usage was expected to be 50,000 by Easter 2025, yet with only some of the stations open to date, including Seaton Delaval in my constituency, figures show that 250,000 journeys have been made—five times the expected number of passenger journeys. Investment in infrastructure delivers results, and I have no doubt that with Moor Farm and Seaton Burn we would, similarly, see substantially more benefits delivered than the assessment implies.

That is precisely why the Government’s review and changes to the Green Book are so vital. A move to a place-based business case is absolutely correct, and for Moor Farm and Seaton Burn, it cannot come soon enough. From Conservative-led Northumberland to the Labour Mayor of North Tyneside, Karen Clark, and the North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness, and local Labour MPs, we are universally agreed: to unlock growth, support business and finally end the misery for local residents in south-east Northumberland, north Tyneside and the wider north-east, these upgrades are essential.

The Government are right to place these decisions in the hands of those who know our communities best, and what delivers for them. I have previously asked, as has the North East combined authority, for this scheme to be judged as a test case for a new methodology for the Green Book. With the changes to the Green Book and the welcome move to place-based business cases, could the A19 north of Newcastle scheme be the test case for new methodology? With the growth that would be unlocked by bringing the scheme forward, overlooked in the previous methodology, will the Department for Transport work with local stakeholders to test this?

Our Government have rightly embraced devolution. Given the importance placed on these junctions to local stakeholders, and the fact that this was specifically referenced in both the deeper devolution deal and the north-east growth plan, what weight is placed on this in the road investment strategy assessment? What conversations have taken place between the Department for Transport and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, given that local plan and housing targets could be at risk if this barrier is not removed? Now that the spending review has been announced, what is the timeframe for a decision on the next round of road investment strategy and the projects identified to go forward? Finally, despite the misinformation put out by Conservative councillors in Northumberland, can the Minister confirm that, under the previous Government, no funding had been awarded for improvements at the roundabouts, and no money for this project has been withdrawn?

The Government have ambitious missions to deliver growth and build the houses that our country needs. Cramlington and Killingworth, and the wider north-east, stand ready to support delivery, but right now the situation at Moor Farm and Seaton Burn acts as a blocker to growth, causing misery to residents and commuters and holding back investment. The voices of local people, business, councils and elected representatives is clear: we need these key junctions to be upgraded. They are holding back the enormous potential of the communities that I represent. Investing here and upgrading the roundabouts can help to deliver our missions, and I hope that this critical investment will be brought forward. I look forward to hearing from the Minister on how we can work together to achieve that.

A new place-based business case taskforce will be established to define objectives for a particular place and bring together the relevant interventions that are needed to achieve objectives across different policy areas. This is about making sure that places like the north-east get their fair share of transport investment. The taskforce will also feature participants from local and regional government, as well as other Government Departments, and will identify appropriate test cases for place-based business cases, and what that means for existing proposals in due course. I note that my hon. Friend got her bid in early.

The deeper devolution deal and the north-east growth plan will allow the combined authority to enter into agreements with Government, other local authorities and National Highways to determine shared priorities for the strategic and key road networks. This closer working relationship, and strategies such as the north-east growth plan, will be an important consideration in the prioritisation of enhancements to the strategic road network in the north-east.

On local plans and housing targets, our Department has a close working relationship with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on a range of transport matters to support our ambitious goals for housing. The successful implementation of local plans is a key part of ensuring development in the right places. Local authorities are encouraged to develop plans in sustainable locations that are not wholly reliant on significant investment in the strategic road network. I recognise that in some cases that is hard to avoid, and it is essential that issues such as constraints on growth form part of the assessment of individual schemes, as my hon. Friend said, and wider investment planning for the network.

On the spending review, schemes that are in the RIS pipeline, such as the A19 north of Newcastle scheme, are being considered for possible delivery beyond 2030. The Department expects to reconfirm those schemes that remain in the pipeline, and they will continue to be developed during the next period, when RIS3 is published early next year. I heard the points that my hon. Friend made about how the pressures on the network may have changed in recent times.

I will just touch on the point about local councillors. As with all schemes in the RIS pipeline, the proposals are funded for their development stages only, and there has been no commitment and no funding for their full delivery at any stage. To say otherwise is simply untrue.

In addition to considerations on the strategic road network, it is vital that we improve public transport connectivity. We are driving forward wider regional transport reforms, including rail upgrades and the resources and powers to deliver better buses as we look to build a modern, integrated public transport system. My hon. Friend highlighted the difference that investment in local rail is already making in her region. This year, we are providing NECA with £24 million to support and improve bus services by putting power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders. That will help to ensure we meet the needs of the communities that rely on them, while protecting socially and economically necessary services. I understand that Mayor McGuinness is exploring franchising options that, if taken forward, would ensure that local bus networks across the north-east can be designed to work better for the people who rely on those services.

We have also just confirmed that from next year, we will be providing £900 million a year to maintain and improve bus services across the country, ensuring that they continue to be affordable and accessible to all. As part of the Government’s clean energy mission, we are also committed to decarbonising transport. The spending review confirmed £1.8 billion to support the uptake of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, including the provision of charging infrastructure along the strategic road network in England.

Active travel also plays a crucial role in the mission, and last week we were pleased to announce a further £616 million nationally to build and maintain walking and cycling infrastructure, and the north-east is already benefiting from more than £7 million this year to support the development of active travel facilities.

Our communities deserve transport infrastructure that supports growth, enhances mobility and ensures sustainability. The Government will shortly publish our 10-year infrastructure strategy, which will set out a long-term plan for how infrastructure projects are planned and delivered. Today’s contributions will help us as we make decisions in the weeks, months and years ahead. We remain dedicated to delivering improvements that will make a real difference to people’s lives, including in the constituencies of my hon. Friends in the north-east. Through investment, innovation and engagement with local leaders, we will continue to transform transport infrastructure for the better. I thank all my hon. Friends for the cases they have made, making sure that I understand the needs and challenges faced by communities in their area. I look forward to working with them as we go forward.