Moor Farm roundabout on A19 in Northumberland needs upgrade, MP says
Government money needs to be spent to improve two busy roundabouts which are "past breaking point" due to traffic congestion, an MP has said.Labour's Cramlington and Killingworth MP Emma Foody used a Westminster Hall debate to call for the junctions on the A19 at Moor Farm and Seaton Burn to be upgraded.Future of Roads Minister Lillian Greenwood accepted that congestion and delays around the roundabouts "need to be addressed", but she did not commit to improving the roads.She said new road enhancements would be "considered" as part of the future road investment strategy, which will start from 1 April.
Department for Transport (DfT) figures show between 2021 and 2024 there has been an 87% increase in delays through the northbound A19 section of Moor Farm in Northumberland and a 36% rise southbound, with an increase of 31% at Seaton Burn, North Tyneside. This has led to more delays on the A1 for traffic joining Seaton Burn roundabout, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
Foody said businesses including Miller UK, Fergusons Transport, George Smith and Renolit UK had seen a negative effect due to delays on the roads."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," she said. Foody said earlier road investment strategies had seen upgrades made to roundabouts further south on the A19 at Silverlink and Tesco's."Surely, now is the time to finish the job and complete the junctions to the end of the A19 at Seaton Burn," she said."My area has seen significant housing developments in recent years. The result is that the roundabouts are past breaking point."Labour's Blyth and Ashington MP Ian Lavery joined the debate to say people were "frightened to use the Moor Farm roundabout" and claimed traffic would get worse once a large data centre is built in Cambois.
In response, Greenwood said: "As part of last week's Spending Review, the government announced £24bn of capital funding between 2026 and 2030 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads across the country."That funding will allow National Highways and local authorities to deliver faster, safer and more reliable journeys. Already this year, north-east England has been provided with an extra £22m for local roads maintenance."
Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Moor Farm roundabout on A19 in Northumberland needs upgrade, MP says
Government money needs to be spent to improve two busy roundabouts which are "past breaking point" due to traffic congestion, an MP has Cramlington and Killingworth MP Emma Foody used a Westminster Hall debate to call for the junctions on the A19 at Moor Farm and Seaton Burn to be of Roads Minister Lillian Greenwood accepted that congestion and delays around the roundabouts "need to be addressed", but she did not commit to improving the said new road enhancements would be "considered" as part of the future road investment strategy, which will start from 1 April. Department for Transport (DfT) figures show between 2021 and 2024 there has been an 87% increase in delays through the northbound A19 section of Moor Farm in Northumberland and a 36% rise southbound, with an increase of 31% at Seaton Burn, North Tyneside. This has led to more delays on the A1 for traffic joining Seaton Burn roundabout, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). Foody said businesses including Miller UK, Fergusons Transport, George Smith and Renolit UK had seen a negative effect due to delays on the roads."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," she said. Foody said earlier road investment strategies had seen upgrades made to roundabouts further south on the A19 at Silverlink and Tesco's."Surely, now is the time to finish the job and complete the junctions to the end of the A19 at Seaton Burn," she said."My area has seen significant housing developments in recent years. The result is that the roundabouts are past breaking point."Labour's Blyth and Ashington MP Ian Lavery joined the debate to say people were "frightened to use the Moor Farm roundabout" and claimed traffic would get worse once a large data centre is built in Cambois. In response, Greenwood said: "As part of last week's Spending Review, the government announced £24bn of capital funding between 2026 and 2030 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads across the country."That funding will allow National Highways and local authorities to deliver faster, safer and more reliable journeys. Already this year, north-east England has been provided with an extra £22m for local roads maintenance." Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Lancashire PCC joins calls for action on M6 safety over closures
Disruption caused by frequent crashes and repeated closures on a motorway is causing "gridlock" on local streets, a police and crime commissioner has PCC Clive Grunshaw has joined calls for action on the regular disruption on the M6 between junctions 28 and 33, saying the county needed "bold action and significant investment" to keep moving. The boss of a Preston bus operator previously called for urgent safety improvements on the M6 and Ribble Valley MP Maya Ellis has raised concerns in the Commons over the chaos caused for drivers and Department for Transport has been contacted for comment. Thomas Calderbank from Preston Bus wrote to the transport secretary last month saying he was "deeply concerned" about the road's his own letter to Heidi Alexander, Mr Grunshaw urged the government to consider measures such as average speed cameras during peak times and a new bridge over the River Ribble between junctions 32 and 33 near Lancaster - the longest uninterrupted stretch of the M6 without an interchange. 'Ripple effect' He emphasised the knock-on effects on local roads and the increased demand on police resources to manage diverted traffic and incidents."When the M6 is closed or congested, traffic is routinely diverted through Preston and surrounding areas," he said."This places immense pressure on local roads, causing widespread disruption and gridlock."He added: "Lancashire hosts the largest motorway network outside London, serving both local commuters and significant through-traffic"The regular disruption on the M6 has a ripple effect across our communities, often bringing traffic to a standstill."He said locally "we're doing all we can", including increased police enforcement and targeted infrastructure improvements, but "we need national support to deliver long-term solutions". "To keep Lancashire moving, we need bold action and significant investment." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
The Sun
12-06-2025
- The Sun
Historic Brit clothes shop beloved by the Royal Family which supplied Europe's top fashion houses is forced to close
A HISTORIC British clothing store once beloved by the Royal Family and known for supplying Europe's top fashion houses has shut down for good—leaving 28 people out of work. Otterburn Mills, based in Otterburn, Northumberland, with a second store in Rothbury, has gone into liquidation following a series of financial blows. 4 The 18th-century mill-turned-retail business struggled to recover after the Covid pandemic, with shop visitor numbers failing to return to pre-2020 levels. The business was further hit by the sudden loss of a key supplier, soaring operating costs, and a shift in consumer shopping habits away from the high street. The company, which famously made a pram rug for Queen Elizabeth II in 1926, had recently been put up for sale. However, no buyer could be found, and business recovery experts FRP were brought in to oversee the winding down of operations. FRP confirmed that the company has ceased trading and 28 employees have been made redundant. Those affected are now being supported with access to the Redundancy Payments Service. Antonya Allison, joint liquidator and director at FRP, said: 'Otterburn Mills was a well-known and respected local business that had built a loyal customer base over many years. Unfortunately, the retailer was faced with an array of challenging headwinds that many high-street brands will recognise and, despite our best efforts to identify it has not been possible to find a viable way forward for the business. Our focus is now on supporting those affected and working to ensure the best possible outcome for creditors through the liquidation process.' The business also had debts owed to HMRC. We live next to a Sainsbury's where 'defeaning' building work is ruining our lives – we haven't slept for a week FRP added that it is 'working with all stakeholders to ensure an orderly wind down of the business and to maximise returns for creditors.' Otterburn Mills rose to prominence under William Waddell, the son of a Borders wool manufacturer, and built a reputation for its tweeds and woven fabrics. These high-quality materials were once used by major European fashion houses including Dior and Balmain. The site was transformed into a retail clothing store in the 1990s by Euan Pringle, who preserved much of the original mill machinery as part of the shop's heritage display. The closure adds to a growing list of British retail losses in recent months. The Original Factory Shop has begun closing down sales at several branches across Worcestershire, Dorset, Durham and other parts of the UK, as part of its wider restructuring. Poundland, recently sold to a US-based firm for just £1, is facing the potential closure of around 100 of its 800 UK shops, with job losses expected. House of Fraser is also shutting down its Worcester city centre store, where a 20 per cent off closing down sale has already begun ahead of its final trading day in September. Meanwhile, fashion chain River Island is drawing up a radical rescue plan to avoid collapse, which includes shutting some stores. Its Banbury branch is set to close at the end of June, and more may follow as the retailer attempts to recover from a £33.2 million loss last year. Industry experts say these closures reflect broader trends, including rising energy bills, business rates, and staffing costs. Many shoppers have moved online or prefer to visit large retail parks over traditional town centres. The Centre for Retail Research has warned that more than 17,000 UK stores could shut their doors in 2025, putting up to 202,000 retail jobs at risk. The loss of Otterburn Mills, a once-thriving symbol of British textile heritage, underlines the deepening crisis for both independent shops and national retail chains across the UK. Without meaningful support or change in consumer habits, more historic names could be lost from the high street for good. RETAIL PAIN IN 2025 The British Retail Consortium predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs would cost the retail sector £2.3billion. Research published by the British Chambers of Commerce earlier this year shows that more than half of companies planned to raise prices by early April. Separately, the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020." 4 4
