Northumberland Line Proposed Level Crossing Mitigation

Overview

As part of the Northumberland Line, six highway level crossings have been identified as needing changes as part of the scheme, with some impacts on the road layout. These changes have been identified from level crossing safety assessments and are required to improve operation for all users when passenger trains start using the line once more. The remaining level crossings along the Northumberland Line do not require changes to the existing highway and are not included in this update.

The six level crossings that have been identified for proposed mitigation are:

• Green Lane (Ashington)

• North Seaton

• Marchey’s House (Ashington)

• Bedlington South

• Bebside

• Plessey Road (Newsham)

Changes to four of these level crossings will be subject to Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO) submitted to Northumberland County Council (NCC) as the highways authority, who will decide whether to give permission to proceed with them; only Bedlington South and Green Lane (Ashington) will be exempt from the TRO process, as they do not include further traffic restrictions above and beyond what exists at present. Once the TROs have been submitted, local residents and other stakeholders will be able to submit comments to NCC to guide its determination of the applications.

The information over the following pages sets out the details of these improvements.

Why your views matter

We would like to share the information with you regarding the forthcoming improvements on a number of level crossings in your local area. Following this, the proposed improvement plans will be submitted formally and where applicable, the TRO process will commence. As noted, Green Lane and Bedlington South level crossings do not require a TRO.