DOZENS of residents and Lord Allendale have spoken out about “dangerous” plans to change A69 junctions.

As part of Highways England’s £30m investment in the A69, junctions at Newton and Bywell are proposed to change. Traffic will no longer able to turn right out of Newton onto the A69 westbound, or turn right into Newton for traffic coming from the east. Similarly, traffic coming from Bywell will not be able to turn onto the A69 heading eastbound.

The proposals have been met with outrage, with local county councillor Karen Quinn stating at a public meeting last week that she believes 100 per cent of residents are opposed to the plans.

The meeting at Newton and Bywell Community Hall on Wednesday attracted a full room of residents who aired their concerns to two Highways England representatives.

Members of the public said the lack of access to the west from Newton – which would force motorists to drive to Horsley before driving back west – would result in more traffic driving through the village.

It is thought traffic from the hamlet of Stelling and Mowden Hall school will instead choose to use the single track road out of the village joining Styford roundabout.

Headteacher at Mowden Hall, Neal Bailey, said at the meeting: “We now have many many more parents who drop off on a daily basis and as a result the numbers of cars coming through are greatly increased. I can tell you a vast majority of our parents live west of here in the likes of Corbridge and the shire.”

Highways England representatives said their calculations showed it would result in an extra 12 cars per hour, and they were looking at installing more crossing places. But several people responded in the meeting claiming it was dangerous to force more traffic down the narrow road.

Other concerns raised included the impact on journey times for emergency services and the dangers for farm vehicles. One resident, who drives a farm vehicle across the carriageway between Newton and Bywell, said: “I strongly suspect I will be one of the first casualties you will have to think about.”

Lord Allendale has also criticised the plans. In a letter to the Courant he said: “This is a typical example of quango trying to justify its existence by imposing a grandiose scheme on local people and businesses who, at best, will be seriously inconveniences and, at worst, put at additional risk.”

Highways England said it would look at the suggestions from the meeting to see if alterations could be made to the scheme.