Time is running out to have your say on Mottram bypass plans

Thursday (17 December) is the last chance for drivers and residents to express their views on the current plans for the £228 million Mottram bypass. 

The latest in a long line of public consultations closes at 11.59pm on the day. 

More than 800 people have already submitted responses during the six-week consultation, Highways England said last week. 

Interested parties can find out more about the proposals and complete a consultation response form at www.highwaysengland.co.uk/A57-Upgrade.

The proposals for the Mottram bypass. Image: Highways England.

Andy Dawson, Highways England’s project manager, said: "We’ve been really pleased with the response we’ve had to the consultation so far and are encouraging anyone who hasn’t already had their say to make sure they submit their comments to us by Thursday 17 December.

“We’ve sent out thousands of brochures about the scheme to homes and businesses along the route, and have got lots of information on the website. You can also watch a computer-generated video showing how the bypass could look.

“We’ll read through every form we receive in response to the consultation and are keen to use as many comments as possible to help us shape our plans for Mottram’s new bypass.”

Last month, Highways England released a video - which you can watch below - which provides a glimpse of what the long-overdue bypass could look like. 

They say the scheme is designed to take traffic away from Mottram, where around 25,000 vehicles travel through every day - including over 2,000 HGVS, as well as improve journeys between Manchester and Sheffield.

The new two-mile bypass would run from the roundabout at the end of the M67 (junction 4) to a new junction on the A57 in Woolley Bridge.

The Mottram bypass scheme includes a new dual carriageway to the north of Mottram, which would connect the motorway roundabout to the A57 at Mottram Moor. A new single carriageway road from Mottram Moor to Woolley Bridge would also separate Glossop traffic from vehicles travelling along the A628 Woodhead Pass.

A combined footpath and cycleway would run alongside the new single carriageway road, connecting Mottram to the coast-to-coast Trans Pennine Trail at Woolley Bridge. The mainly traffic-free route is part of the national cycle network and winds 215 miles across the Pennines between Southport and Hornsea.

Vehicles passing through Mottram 

The huge plans have been branded a 'stone age idea' which 'threaten' the Peak District national park by one campaigner. 

Broadbottom resident Jo Dagustun has also shared some of the concerns about the proposed bypass raised by local people she has spoken to so far as part of her 42-day talkathon. 

Following consideration of the consultation responses, Highways England will submit a development consent order (DCO) application in the spring.

If the DCO application is successful, and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps gives the final approval, highways chiefs expect to start construction work in 2023.

Earlier this year, Balfour Beatty Atkins was appointed to design and construct the bypass, which long-suffering residents of Mottram and surrounding areas have waited over 50 years to be built amid increasing traffic problems on the congested route.