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Rt. Hon. Sir Alan Beith MPLiberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Berwick Upon TweedWorking for you and the Berwick upon Tweed Constituency all year roundin Northumberland and in Westminster |
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Northumberland campaigners lobby Minister over funding for A1 dualling
March 15, 2012 3:52 PM
Campaigners from across Northumberland met the Chief Secretary of the Treasury, Liberal Democrat MP Danny Alexander, at the weekend to lobby for funding to start dualling work on stretches of the A1.
Local MP Sir Alan Beith said
"It was good to show Danny Alexander just how strong feelings are in the north east that dualling the A1 is vital to our economic development, and will lead to more jobs, economic growth in the private sector and a reduction in our dependency on public sector employment.
"Dualling the A1 along its entire length will be extremely costly but there are stretches at Mousen Bends and between Alnwick and Felton which have already had a great deal of technical preparation and work could start there relatively quickly.
"I am continuing to push for these projects to be brought to the front of the queue for government funding."
Danny Alexander praised Sir Alan for his "constant lobbying" and demonstrated a thorough understanding of the geography of the route when questioned at two separate events, saying he was well aware of the needs of the Mousen Bends area and other stretches.
Cllr Jeff Reid, Leader of Northumberland County Council, said
"Sir Alan and I spent nearly two hours taking the Chief Secretary around Northumberland and talking to him about the economic potential of the county, and how crucial the dualling of the A1 will be alongside the developments at Port of Blyth and the link road at Morpeth. He clearly sees how much we could achieve here and I will be sending him the extra information he asked for in support of our lobbying."