Opinion: This ill-conceived scheme would increase traffic, road crashes and carbon emissions

Early morning traffic queuing along the A57 Mottram Moor towards the village of Mottram which has been granted a bypass.
Pic Paul Burrows — Early morning traffic queuing along the A57 Mottram Moor towards the village of Mottram which has been granted a bypass. Pic Paul Burrows

It is precisely because the ‘Traffic isn’t going away’ (letter January 19) that CPRE PDSY is trying to stop the Mottram Bypass by legally challenging the government’s decision to give it the go-ahead.

National Highways’ own figures show that this ill-conceived scheme would increase traffic, road crashes and carbon emissions. Furthermore, the bypass would be the first step in motorway-style dualling through Longdendale to the M1. Instead of carving up our first national park we should be reducing the traffic and restoring its peace and quiet. A new road is most likely to end up overground all the way between the M67 and the M1, as a tunnel under the Peak National Park was considered too expensive at £12-14bn. The possibility of a short tunnel would still cost billions of pounds and present economic constraints make even this unlikely.

CPRE PDSY commissioned a transport planning expert to consider alternative solutions to the congestion in the area and published a report entitled ‘Low Carbon Travel for Longdendale and Glossopdale’. The proposals would avoid damaging the National Park and would improve the area for everyone, not just those living in Mottram. They include a weight restriction on through-traffic of heavy lorries across the Peak District forcing them to use the motorways around the area. Yes, the motorways are in places heavily congested but they - or railways - are where heavy freight should travel. The weight restriction coupled with improvements to walking, cycling, and bus and rail services is affordable (at a tenth of the price of the bypass), feasible and deliverable.

Your correspondent has no idea how the charity is funding the legal challenge, and therefore is unable to make an informed comment on that issue. In fact, funds donated specifically for campaigning against the bypass have been used to underwrite the initial legal costs, and we are continuing to fundraise through the CrowdJustice web site and other means. We are delighted that many people have most generously pledged their support for our action. We strongly believe that the government has failed in its duty to consider alternative solutions, such as those we proposed, and have not considered the cumulative effects of carbon emissions from the scheme and the traffic it would generate.

Please help us to resist the new roads and enhance the Peak Park by pledging here https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/stop-mottram-bypass/ or search for ‘stop Mottram bypass’.