A petition has been launched calling for the Secretary of State for Transport to reject the proposed A57 Link Roads Scheme.  

It is part of a campaign launched by High Peak Green New Deal, with the support of Manchester Friends of the Earth and CPRE Peak District. 

They fear the proposed Mottram Bypass scheme will not relieve congestion and pollution for Glossopdale residents but will make a bad situation worse and bring two years of disruption while it is being built. 

Linda Walker, of the Green New Deal group, said: "Even National Highways who are proposing the scheme have admitted that it will do nothing to relieve congestion in Glossop and will attract more traffic along the A57.  

“Instead of spending £180 million on road building, money should be invested in low carbon travel.”  

On their petition, the group states that for a fraction of the cost (around £10 million) a plan for low carbon travel in Longdendale and Glossopdale could be implemented. 

Campaigners have been leafleting local residents to object to the scheme and last Sunday (10 April) spoke to residents of Manchester Road in Tintwistle as the new road will not help congestion in the village. 

One resident said she had carried out a traffic survey in the early 1980s which had highlighted the problems back then. Nothing had been done and the situation today was far worse, they said. 

Another resident suggested "imaginative" solutions including getting rid of the lay-bys on the Woodhead to make the road less attractive. Another pointed to the absence of speed signs through the village and the lack of enforcement of the 30mph limit.  

Details of the online petition can be found at Bit.ly/StopLink