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Blyth relief road

Blyth relief road

A Blyth Transport Appraisal was completed in 2015 and recommended several short, medium and long term options to take forward to help relieve congestion.

Project Update - January 2025

Background 

The town of Blyth plays a key role in the regional economy, with the £70 million ‘Energising Blyth’ programme of investment aimed at making Blyth a thriving UK and international centre of renewable energy and advanced manufacturing growth and innovation. 

The proposed investment presents a real opportunity to grow the economy of Blyth and the wider area. 
 
To ensure this economic growth becomes reality, it is essential that the links are in place to ensure the safe and efficient movement of people and goods and to facilitate more sustainable transport solutions, such as improved walking and cycling links and better access to the proposed Northumberland Line railway stations. 
 
Northumberland County Council has been aware of traffic problems entering and leaving Blyth for several years. The two main roads into Blyth, the A193 Cowpen Road and A1061 Laverock Hall Road are heavily congested with over 20,000 vehicles a day on each road. In the long term, an increase in traffic is expected across the Blyth network associated with the delivery of the Local Plan. The transport network, in its current form, does not have the available capacity to accommodate this growth. 
 
Congestion adversely affects the economic potential of the area, the movement of people and goods, particularly to and from the Port of Blyth, and has a harmful effect upon the environment through exhaust emissions from vehicles. The reliability of buses is also affected, particularly during peak hours, with the existing roads into Blyth highlighted by bus operators as causing delays to services. Congested roads also impact on the attractiveness of Blyth as a place to walk and cycle. 
 
A new relief road - the realignment and dualling of the existing A1061 Laverock Hall Road to provide a direct dual carriageway connection between the A192 Three Horseshoes Roundabout and the A193 South Beach, has been identified as a means to relieve this congestion and facilitate the economic growth of the town. A new complementary link is also proposed between Chase Farm Drive and Ogle Drive, also joining up with Tynedale Drive. 
 
Being part of the Major Road Network (MRN), the middle tier of the country’s busiest and most economically important local authority ‘A’ roads, the Blyth Relief Road is eligible to access the National Roads Fund (NRF) which is expected to be spent nationally on major improvement schemes on those local roads designated as part of the MRN. 

Business Case 

In Spring 2024 the Department of Transport requested that the existing Outline Business Case OBC (2022) for the project be updated with the latest information available including changes to traffic predictions regarding the implementation of the Northumberland Line Railway and the changes in social characteristics following Covid. The changes in the updated OBC will be reflected in the Environmental Statement for the project which will form part of the planning application. 
 
The scheme is dependent upon funding from Central Government and the satisfactory completion of statutory procedures 

Scheme Design 

The preliminary design of the road alignment is complete, and the proposed junctions have been assessed. The footpaths and cycleways have also been incorporated into the design with connections to the existing network. Landscaping proposals are being prepared and the drainage requirements are being further developed. 

Planning Application 

Following the updating of the OBC and the Environmental Statement it is intended to submit the planning application in April/May 2025 

What happens next 

A Statement of Community Engagement will be submitted as part of the application including how the local authority have taken into account feedback received as part of the consultation. The report will be available from the Planning Portal in due course, details of which will be added here.  
 
The project timeline is summarised below: 

  • Planning application to be submitted April/May 2025 
  • Planning approval anticipated summer 2025 
  • Confirmation of funding from Central Government anticipated autumn 2025 
  • Construction is anticipated to begin in late spring 2026 for a period of approximately 18 months up to autumn 2027