“We’re not particularly bothered which party does it, we just want the road dualled,” said Cllr Isabel Hunter, speaking after yet another shutdown on the single‑carriageway A1. Her words landed with extra weight today as ministers confirmed the legal consent for dualling between Morpeth and Ellingham has been scrapped.

Whitehall has now pulled the legal plug. A Statutory Instrument titled the A1 in Northumberland: Morpeth to Ellingham Development Consent (Revocation) Order 2025 has been made today, Thursday 13 November, and comes into force on Friday 14 November 2025. It revokes in full the 2024 Development Consent Order that had authorised National Highways to dual the route.

The Department for Transport’s notice cites the Planning Act 2008 and the 2011 Regulations governing changes to, and revocation of, Development Consent Orders, stating there are “exceptional circumstances” to act without an application from the promoter. It follows a summer consultation on the draft revocation order.

This closes the book on a consent granted only last year. On 24 May 2024 the Planning Inspectorate announced development consent for a 13‑mile upgrade to create a continuous dual carriageway from the Morpeth and Alnwick bypasses to near Ellingham.

Policy turned sharply afterwards. National Highways records that the scheme was cancelled in the 30 October 2024 Budget on value‑for‑money grounds. In August 2025 the DfT published its intent to revoke the consent and invited representations up to 12 September. Today’s Order completes that process.

Local leaders have kept up pressure. At a county council meeting this month, Conservative leader Glen Sanderson called it a “fundamental need” to have a safe, reliable A1 to the Border, while councillors cited frequent closures and collisions. Deputy leader Richard Wearmouth branded the revocation “needless and spiteful” over the summer.

Money has already gone in. A BBC Freedom of Information request found £68.4m had been spent by early 2025 on design and preparation, up from about £67m the year before. That spend now sits against a cancelled build and a revoked consent.

Ministers say they are exploring smaller‑scale fixes on the corridor. The DfT indicated in August it was looking at other safety and congestion measures for the stretch, while National Highways says it will focus on operating and maintaining a reliable network after the dualling was judged poor value.

What’s been revoked was significant. The 2024 DCO covered widening between Morpeth and Felton, a new offline section west of the existing road, upgrades toward Ellingham, and associated junctions and structures. That legal power to build and compulsorily acquire land has now been switched off.

The politics remain raw. Long‑time campaigners point to the A1’s role as the North East’s spine to Scotland; others argue billions can’t be tied up in projects that no longer stack up. Even so, accident data cited at County Hall – 26 casualties this year, including 10 serious injuries and one death – will keep the pressure on for near‑term safety work.

For businesses along the A1 corridor – hauliers, food producers, tourism operators – the decision means more years planning around bottlenecks rather than a clean dualled run. Many had re‑baselined growth assumptions after consent was granted last spring; those forecasts will need another hard look now that the consent has been revoked.

Today’s Order is brief but consequential: the 2024 consent is revoked, effective tomorrow. The Department for Transport set out the legal route and the timetable in its notices over the summer; Northumberland will now look to ministers for a clear plan and dates for the promised safety and capacity improvements.