CPRE PDSY Comment on A57 Link Roads Verdict

Campaigners slam £182m damaging road scheme

The A57 Link Roads on the eastern edge of Manchester have today been given the go ahead by the Secretary of State for Transport. The announcement comes the day before a UK budget, which is anticipated to increase taxes and make huge public spending cuts, and as food and energy bills soar. Anticipated to cost £182million over a year, scheme costs will have risen along with inflation and increased construction costs.

The scheme would help part of Mottram but leave Hollingworth and Tintwistle further east, and much of Glossopdale, to endure existing congestion and pollution, with increased traffic, road crashes and carbon emissions. More traffic through the Peak District National Park will damage people’s enjoyment of its peace and quiet. Consequently the Link Roads go against all Government and local policy.

‘I am amazed that this outdated scheme has been given the go ahead’ said Linda Walker of High Peak Green New Deal, ‘We need a solution that deals with the traffic issues in the whole area, not just Mottram. CPRE’s Low Carbon Travel Project would do that for a tiny fraction of the scheme’s cost – £10m. We are already building on this to involve the whole community in providing a plan for sustainable travel’.

‘To consent a road scheme that will lock in greater car use when we need to be rapidly cutting emissions and encouraging massive behaviour change defies all logic’ said Anne Robinson transport campaigner with CPRE PDSY. ‘The Examination of the scheme exposed numerous flaws that were never revealed during public consultation. We will be scrutinising the decision to ensure it was made properly and lawfully.’

Carol Beckett, an objector who lives in Glossop, said: “I shake my head in disbelief. This scheme is some sort of industrial relic. It should never have been brought forward. It is no longer in line with government policies, which are to reduce traffic in urban areas and to tackle carbon and encourage exercise. It goes in the wrong direction.

“This is not levelling up – it is an insult to our intelligence. It is knowingly damaging to Glossop residents and knowingly damaging to the climate. It is a slap in the face for the people of Glossop and by extension for all people in the North.”

Low Carbon Travel for Longdendale and Glossopdale can be found here https://www.cprepdsy.org.uk/news/low-carbon-travel-for-longdendale-and-glossopdale-full-report/