Issues (cont'd)

The Economic Case

When one considers the huge and escalating cost to the public purse of the proposed scheme, figures from £68 million to as high as £200 million have been mentioned in the press, then the benefits would need to substantial. But what are these benefits?

Economic benefits are usually counted by business in terms of timesavings; however, these benefits are known to deteriorate in time, owing to the inevitable increase in traffic [3]. Given that one of the benefits to the economy is "unlocking inaccessible sites for development" [4], meaning that previously protected green belt land can now enter the planning system, it is highly likely that a perceived economic benefit of this scheme is due to housing and industrial development that may follow once the road is in place.

More Roads = More Traffic

It is a well known fact that an increase in road capacity leads to an increase in traffic, so in reality significant traffic bottlenecks would clearly await in various places after the bypass is built, for example with freight crossing the Pennines on the A628 where a Bypass plus Restraint Option is intended. Within Glossopdale the problems would be exacerbated, at such already fraught congestion spots as Dinting Arches. The problems will also be pushed further down the M67 to the junction with the M60, which is already a black spot at peak times.

[3] Transport and the economy: full report (SACTRA), §2.71.
[4] Transport and the economy: summary report (SACTRA), §8.

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