Emma Foody

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point on the risk to opportunity and the future of our region if we cannot resolve this matter. Another developer warned that “We are very reluctant to commit to the significant expenditure to bring schemes forward until we have more certainty regarding Moor Farm and whether it will hold up delivery”. This risks a nightmare situation where no business or housing development can move forward, potentially for years to come. Those missed opportunities are jobs and homes for local people that may be invested in elsewhere, or indeed not at all. Local people across my constituency will pay the price in missed opportunities for jobs and homes. The Minister does not need to take my word for it; Northumberland county council informed me: “A number of major planning applications across South East Northumberland cannot be determined due to National Highways’ concerns on the impact at Moor Farm”. North Tyneside council stated: “Without investment in this critical infrastructure, there is a risk that no land can be brought forward for housing or employment purposes without having a significant and unacceptable detrimental impact”. The council added: “Future growth will most likely be stymied”. The elected Mayor of North Tyneside, Karen Clark, stated: “There is a very real risk that we see only limited growth and will not…be able to meet our future housing requirements or secure inward investment.” The North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness, said: “If we don’t see the upgrade, economic growth in the North East, at a time when there is great momentum in the region, could be held back”. The North East combined authority has warned: “Lack of investment at this junction is holding back growth and our ambitions for the North East, as well as making it more difficult to meet the challenging housing targets set by the government”. This is a crucial issue for local authorities when they are updating their local plans. If we see sites that are allocated in current local plans being held up or withdrawn due to the situation at Moor Farm—large sections of the region that cannot be developed in any way—how can councils meet the Government’s requirements to update their local plans? I know that the Minister will see the significance of this issue for delivering on two of the Government’s pillars of the plan for change: sustained growth and homes, both of which are at risk as a result of the situation at Moor Farm roundabout. It is not just local authorities and public bodies that have raised their concerns. The North East chamber of commerce informed me: “Moor Farm roundabout is not just an inconvenience—it is a brake on sustainable growth, investment and opportunity. For our region to fulfil its potential, we must act now to deliver the infrastructure enabling—not hindering—opportunity.” Newcastle International airport, a key regional stakeholder, added: “The upgrades are vital to ensure the free flow of freight vehicles along a key artery for the region which connects the major ports”. I am also concerned that the extent of the issue is expanding down the A19 into North Tyneside, with National Highways again issuing holding directions further down the network. Those are being applied against sites in North Tyneside council’s existing local plan: approved sites are being held up. Frankly, the situation in Moor Farm should have been addressed many years ago, long before it got to this point. We now see the result of that lack of investment, and we cannot simply allow the situation to continue. It is as much an issue for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as it is for the Department for Transport. We need a cross-Government approach to unblock this blocker to growth, development and investment. I have spoken about the challenges due to existing infrastructure, but I hope that the Minister might indulge me. Last year I held a debate, to which he kindly responded, on the adoption of new estates and the importance of infrastructure in those developments. As I have mentioned, I have a significant number of new and unadopted estates across my constituency, and the Minister will be aware that I have surveyed people who live on those estates about their experiences. I have shared with him previously their frustrations about the lack of delivery and accountability for infrastructure on unadopted estates. Residents should not be left for year after year paying estate management fees on unfinished estates, without any certainty from developers and councils about the adoption of those estates. I know that the Minister continues to work on that. If he is unable to speak about it today, perhaps he could write to me with an update on action on the issue. I will return to the main thrust of my speech. The Government have ambitious missions to deliver growth and build the houses that our country needs. Right now, the situation at Moor Farm is a blocker, causing misery and holding back investment. I recognise, of course, that the decision on the upgrade to the roundabout will be taken by the Department for Transport. I assure the Minister—as will the DFT—that I am very much on the case with that. The issue not only impacts the road network; while the congestion causes misery for people across my constituency, the infrastructure is critical to a number of councils in the north-east, and to the ability to meet the Government’s ambitions for growth and housing. How can the Minister’s Department work with National Highways, in its role as a statutory consultee, to facilitate and support investment, rather than using holding directions, especially when they put at risk the Department’s priorities? If National Highways continues to apply holding objections, and two local plans are potentially unsustainable, how can local authorities deliver on housing targets? Where critical pieces of infrastructure are on the strategic road network and therefore not under local authority control, how is the Ministry engaging to resolve issues? The Government are rightly focused on devolution. The north-east growth plan and devolution deal both reference Moor Farm and upgrades, and the local transport plan sets out how crucial it is to the region. In supporting devolution, how can the Minister’s Department empower this agenda in my region? Will the Minister meet me, the Department for Transport and National Highways to see how we can work together on this vital issue? I know that the Minister is committed to delivering the housing that our country needs. My hon. Friend the Member for Blyth and Ashington and I are here today to help secure growth, jobs and investment, not only in my constituency but across the north-east. As we have heard, Moor Farm roundabout is a key blocker to growth and development. Addressing it requires a joined-up approach across Government to remove the barrier and unleash the potential in my community and across the region. If we are to deliver the change that we were elected to deliver, turbocharge growth in the north-east and empower the region, delivering the upgrade and removing that barrier is essential. I hope that the Minister can join me in the mission to deliver this crucial change.