A57 Mottram bypass: Eleventh-hour legal challenge could disappoint motorists travelling to and from Sheffield

Environmental campaigners say a new road round a notorious bottleneck near Glossop would make congestion worse and the ‘disgraceful’ decision to give it the green light was flawed. Work on the two-mile Mottram bypass is expected to start in spring after the project was approved in November. It would create a new link between the A628 Woodhead Pass and the A57 Snake Pass, and the M67 motoway, a stretch of road which has traditionally featured queueing traffic for Sheffield motorists.

But the Peak District and South Yorkshire branch of countryside charity, CPRE, is pursuing a judicial review aiming to block it. It says the scheme would increase carbon emissions, worsen congestion, lead to more road crashes, and increase traffic through the national park, including villages east of Mottram.

And it claims transport secretary Mark Harper failed to consider the environmental impact, or reasonable alternatives, and failed to demonstrate the “very special circumstances” needed to allow building on Green Belt.

CPRE campaigner Anne Robinson said: “This is a disgraceful decision, not only because the Secretary of State dismissed all the adverse impacts of the scheme on people and the environment but also because it will enable the long planned dualling of the A628 corridor through our first National Park.”

The group supports a ‘low carbon’ plan which would restrict heavy lorries and promote ‘sustainable transport solutions’ without building new roads. CPRE has set up a crowdfunding page to fund the legal action.

Some 25,000 vehicles travel along the A57 through Mottram every day. The new road is due to open in spring 2025.

In November, Stewart Jones, National Highways’ delivery director for major projects in the North West, said: “This news is a real landmark – not least for everyone living alongside the existing A57 who has had to put up with rising congestion, road noise, pollution and disrupted local journeys over the years as vehicle numbers have risen.

“The project will also provide relief for the thousands of commuters, hauliers and other drivers who rely on the vitally important Manchester to Sheffield route every day and we’re looking forward to the spring when we can start building.”