NEWS

Between April and September 2025, Action Fraud has received 2,790 crime reports relating to Winter Fuel Payment scams, with victims reporting losses totalling over £27,000.

Winter Fuel Payments are made automatically, you do not need to do anything. If you receive any text messages about Winter Fuel Payments, it’s a scam.

Not sure if a message is real? Contact the organisation directly using the contact details on their official website, not the number or web address in the message. Your bank (or any other official source) won’t ask you to supply personal information by email or text message.

If you have spotted a suspicious SMS or RCS message, you can report it for FREE by forwarding it to 7726.

If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud, contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud online at actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040, or call Police Scotland on 101.

Everyone can have their say and tell us what you think. There is a response form to fill in online here.  

If you prefer to do the form with pen and paper, you can download it here as a pdf and print it out. Post it back to LNRS, Economic Development & Growth Directorate, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF.

You will find more information you need by clicking here to visit the Northumberland County Council website. It is open until 9th January 2026. 

Early in 2026, we will consider all the responses, and publish the decisions / changes we make as a result. We hope to publish the final LNRS by the end of March 2026. 

The South of Tyne and Wear, and the Durham LNRSs are out for comments with a similar timeframe.  You can find out more on the North East Combined Authority website.  

Thank you for your time and input - for everybody who has fed in over the past months and years, and for taking the time to read it and add your thoughts.

Works to divert services and install ducts are complete well ahead of schedule however a clash was identified requiring the design to be updated and the ordering of pile cages delayed by one week. Tree clearance and vegetation is complete in advance of the arrival of over wintering birds, necessary to avoid the project being delayed until after the winter.

Note, that we were able to persuade Northern PowerGrid to undertake their works when they did using a cancellation in their programme, otherwise we would have been waiting many months and commencing works in the depth of winter leading to the closure taking much longer.

Installation of the site compound continues this week. Excavation of the highway is commencing this week with silt fencing  being installed on the river bank followed by removal of the surfacing material.