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Thousands of vehicles using village as A1 rat-run

BBC Felton high street stretches up a hill. The buildings are 18th Century, with cars parked on both sides.BBC
During the summer months, thousands of vehicles use Felton to avoid congestion on the A1

Thousands of vehicles are using a village as a rat-run from the A1, a survey has shown.

During the August bank holiday weekend, Northumberland County Council recorded more than 3,000 cars and lorries on one day in Felton, more than five times the average number.

Following the decision to scrap the dualling of the A1, a meeting has been called about the issue between local groups and National Highways.

Chair of Felton Parish Council Adam MacDonald said: "There is no hope of an easy solution, but we would like to see something done."

A junction of the A1 with a large sign pointing to Felton and Amble
There are fears more drivers will use Felton to bypass part of the single carriage section now the A1 dualling scheme there has been cancelled

A scheme to dual a 13-mile (21km) stretch of the A1 was given the final go-ahead by the then-Conservative government in May, only to be cancelled by the new Labour government in last month's Budget.

Northumberland County Council leader Glen Sanderson said that decision was "very disappointing" because "problems are caused by trying to escape the southbound jams".

"It's an obvious danger to residents in a small village because the roads and infrastructure weren't built for hundreds of HGVs," he added.

A road outside the village of Felton with some old petrol pumps in front of now closed garage.
The A1 ran through Felton until 1981 when a bypass, with a new bridge over the Coquet, was built

MacDonald said the traffic was "certainly getting worse" and with "no hope of improvement now".

"It's the big lorries that are the problem and we would certainly like to see signs saying the route is not suitable for HGVs," he said.

"One bank holiday we had bunting up in the village and it got caught on the top of one of the HGVs and all came down."

The entrance to Felton village, which has a sign giving way to vehicles coming in the opposite direction.
Traffic calming measures have been built to slow traffic as it enters Felton

Sanderson said tackling the number of HGVs "would not be straightforward" because the road was a through route "which provides local access".

"We do need to raise these concerns nationally, though, to try and support those living in our communities along the route of the A1 now dualling is no longer happening," he added.

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