Now everyone wants to save Woodhead...

We've had some good news this week. A new group - Save the Woodhead Tunnel has emerged to oppose National Grid's plans to vandalise the Woodhead Tunnel. There's a website, and there's an inaugural meeting in Glossop next Tuesday to which anyone interested in opposing the effective destruction of this vital resource is invited to attend.

But they're not the only ones. The Campaign for Better Transport is highlighting the tunnel as part of a campaign to reinstate disused railways, and the Guardian were on the case earlier this week. The Save Woodhead site also points us to a petition to reopen the railway on pm.gov.uk.

Rather predictably riding on the coat-tails of this are politicians. Is anyone surprised that Tom Levitt has an article in this week's Glossop Advertiser pledging his support (a regurgitation of his press release)? There's a deliciously ironic quote in there:

"As transport and climate change issues grow in importance and priority, the chance of taking thousands of tons of freight off our roads and putting it on rail on this important transpennine route must be preserved"

This is the same MP that fully supports the Longdendale Bypass, and has stated in the past that use of the Woodhead Line would not come fast enough for his liking, and that was why he preferred the bypass. A scan of his column from the Glossop Chronicle of 7th December 2006 - 'Bypass plan will come before rail' - is here. The irony is that it looks increasingly unlikely that the Bypass will not be delivered inside the 10 years that Levitt said the Woodhead proposal should deliver by in order to receive his support.

Returning to his press release, what the government said 5 weeks ago with the release of their 'sustainable transport system' paper is the opposite of what we want and what his quote says he wants. Levitt knows that he cannot afford to be silent locally on this issue since it arouses such strong feelings, and it looks like this is his last tenure in office in High Peak. Of course, it is quite possible that he and other politicians may want to see a revival of Woodhead as well as a bypass, in order to massively increase freight capacity through the area. This may explain why the sponsor of an Early Day Motion condemning National Grid's plans for Woodhead, is none other than Graham Stringer, a former Chair of Manchester Airport, a company who would be all for anything that increases their business opportunities at any cost.

Activists should be reminded that this campaign will only succeed in spite of politicians, not because of them. If predictions we have heard are true, then National Grid plan to move very soon, and an appropriately effective response should be considered, not one that dithers.

Meanwhile, we will watch developments with much interest...

Running scared?

Front page news in the local papers this week is the latest tactics in the raging battle being fought by the despoilers of Hadfield and the residents of Hadfield.

JD Williams, the mail order catalogue giant, seem to be running scared that local activists are kicking them where it hurts in acting against their crackpot scheme to make their unfeasibly ugly grey sheds even bigger. According to the Glossop Advertiser, the company is asking it's employees to write in to High Peak Borough Council's Planning Dept in support of their application whilst passing themselves off as residents. This all sounds like stories coming out of Russia during the recent election, where Vladimir Putin's party had made civil servants an offer they couldn't refuse: vote for us or get the sack.

It gets better - today, they landed on our site, searching Google with the words 'high-peak (sic) planning hadfield'. Even more ironic, they landed on our recent article about the local anti-Del Boy, Trevor Mooney.

The consultation date has already ended for this application, but the Committee date is 14th January 2008, and we hope that a charabanc will wend it's way to the Council Offices at Chinley to tell HPBC's grey shed-loving nutters where to stick it. There's a more recent opportunity for similar fun this coming Monday (17th December), when further applications for de(re)generation will be heard from Rossington Park and Bridge Mills.

Save Temperance Green!

We've become aware of a new environmental campaign in Longdendale over the weekend: Residents Against Green Erosion (RAGE) have set up a weblog in their campaign to protect Temperance Green, a small patch of green land in Broadbottom.

TMBC seem to have plans to turn it into a car park. Our posts about the progress of Trevor Mooney's car park in Dinting should alert those who believe local authority planning departments have scruples about where to build, even a tiny bit of land in the middle of a small village like Broadbottom.

What makes this one interesting are several factors. One is that many of arguments espoused by RAGE are the same as we use in the fight against the bypass. Another is that it is really a microcosm of the bypass issue: if you allow roads to grow, you end up having arguments about the tiniest bits of green land left - nothing satiates the appetite of the road monster.

But best of all is that this is taking place in Broadbottom, and that RAGE have been talking to the bypass supporting councillors Jonathan Reynolds and Sean Parker-Perry. How likely is it that politicians such as these will be against a car park? I suppose we'll find out.

We'd like to add our support to this campaign and will be reserving a space in the sidebar for a link. In the meantime, RAGE have a video about their campaign on YouTube:

Shock - High Peak Planning Officer rejects crackpot scheme

You may remember our post some time back about local impresario Trevor Mooney's plan to build a golf driving range on Dinting. Well, he's been re-treading the boards with his 'Del Boy spurned by local authority' act once again, in both of last week's local papers (Glossop Chronicle & Glossop Advertiser).

In a bizarre change to High Peak Borough Council's usual policy of carving up the landscape through the area, his plan has been rejected by an officer. What is of interest is that both articles suggest that this is only because they'd want him to have floodlighting and buildings, and he makes it clear that - luckily - he isn't prepared to pay for that.

Another interesting point is Mooney's clear ignorance about what an understanding & care for the environment entails in this quote:

"They (HPBC) also say the area is a wildlife site and needs protecting yet the field next to us is mown every week. Our field is full of knotweed and we are prepared to eradicate that for the golf range"

In Mooney's world, a Golf Course is good because it's a green space. Anyone who knows more about the environment than this pleb is aware that they are entirely artificial and highly environmentally damaging. Since they consist largely of huge sections of turf they are ecological 'desert' requiring huge amounts of water to keep them alive.

Mooney also rather childishly seems to think that mowing grass will kill all the little insects and mice who live there, and that has to be bad for the environment.

In Mooney's world, there are good plants and bad plants. For him, the environment is something to be tamed and controlled (which may go someway to explaining his semi-conscious analogy of his being a stranger in the 'Wild West' that the Chronicle article suggests). Of course, this could well be because he's a keen gardener, a leisure activity originally promoted in the nineteenth century by a ruling class very keen on social control in a time of huge social upheavals and class conflict. The Bourgeoisie do so like their little boxes with labels where everything will fit neatly, and the world can simply be divided into good and bad, and knotweed is clearly bad (despite being an important food source for butterflies and moths).

So it's golf or moths. I know which I prefer.

But Mooney does ask an important question which requires an answer:

"if is open countryside and designated, then why did they let me turn the field right next to it into a car park?"

Indeed, why did they?

The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny

Remember our last post about the Public Inquiry? We'd predicted a war of attrition, and there's some news today which bears that out.

The PI website contains a new Highways Agency document (opens PDF) which sets out their timescale for the republication of their Proofs of Evidence, the Environmental Statement and other relevant documents. They don't expect to have these ready until after Easter 2008.

Nice to have the advance warning for the next scheduled PI day of December 18th. On that day, does anyone expect Inspector Watson to do anything other than allow them to carry on with this farce?

In the meantime, the Easter Bunny is bunkered down and ready for war...

Greenwash the United Utilities way

It seems the institutions that are for this road are really now stepping up their efforts to marginalise the public from the facts.

United Utilities (UU) have now brought themselves into the firing line. An article in this week's Advertiser - which is clearly a press release from UU - waxes lyrical about how the Longdendale Trail really is a wildlife haven. This is the same week that has seen an article in the Glossop Chronicle trying to demolish hope for any plans to reopen the Woodhead Tunnel to rail traffic. Is all of this press coverage a coincidence?

The position of United Utilities in this one is very curious indeed. Their links with TMBC are not that well know, but the most direct and undeniable one is the fact that they enrol their employees into the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, a fund that is administered by TMBC, with Roy Oldham as Chairman. We've heard mutterings about shady financial deals done between TMBC & UU over The Kingswater/Waterside Park development years ago, in which TMBC paid millions to UU via a front company, in order the buy their land, despite the fact that the project was subject to tens of thousands of objections from the public.

Why have UU been keeping silent about the implications for their assets that the bypass will bring? As one of the largest landowners in the area, acres of their assets will be detrimentally affected by this road. Isn't it strange that they have not objected? But by the same token, they haven't supported the proposal. Is that because they don't want to be asked tricky questions at the PI?

Interestingly, they have objected to the alternatives to the bypass. And this info is in the public domain.



If one looks at their objection, one is immediately struck by the fact it is in the language of a less than worldly or literate individual - the use of the word LOTS in block capitals is almost laughable. What's more, since alternative 1 envisages the construction of only a small bit of road from the Showground roundabout, we're at a loss to understand why this is more destructive than a dirty great dual carriageway across the North of Longdendale - i.e. the bypass. And we could go on about the fact that this objection amounts to 1 side of A4, but that's surely too obvious.

UU's website has a page for the Longdendale Trail, but not Swallow's Wood. Visitors to Swallow's Wood will know that the reserve is not exactly actively managed by UU. Has another deal taken place, whereby UU's silence has been bought? Has someone 'sweetened the deal' to make the compulsory purchase of thousands of acres of their land more palatable?

Keep that in mind while reading the article about the Longdendale Trail. Any 'neglected' area stands a good chance of 'returning to nature', but equally any plans to re-use an existing trackbed for trains are in no way as grievous as the plans to destroy Swallows Wood with a brand new road. UU's silence over the devastation of their asset, Swallows Wood, is both conspicuous and deafening. I for one smell a huge cagney-esque rat.

Woodheadcases

13 days after we posted this story, this week David Jones of the Glossop Chronicle has spilled the beans on the details of the vandalism proposed for the Woodhead Tunnel. National Grid have apparently been keeping Charlesworth Parish Council informed of their plans - and nobody else.

In the article, David Jones is eager to point out that the plans of National Grid will put beyond use any rail option, and especially that of Translink, an alternative to the bypass.

But the key here is the stated purpose of the Electricity lines:

The new power lines will connect Greater Manchester with Yorkshire to meet the rising demand for electricity from the conurbation from power stations.

Given this government's stated commitment to reducing CO2 emissions, fostering smaller-scale, local & sustainable power generation projects is the way forward, not a continued reliance on old-style projects. Despite Steven Knight-Gregson's comments that "we have to replace these cables - we can't switch the lights off in Manchester", National Grid's advocacy of dirty, unsustainable power will surely result in that outcome happening much sooner unless unrealistic expectations about energy consumption are discouraged and micro-generation is not developed much more widely.

We'd be interested to know if anyone can enlighten us whether or not the power stations David Jones mentions include Drax near Selby in Yorkshire, site of the 2006 Climate Camp - targeted because this power plant alone emits more CO2 than 103 small unindustrialised nations.

But the most absurd part of this article is reserved to the last. Knight-Gregson comments that any future railway could use the Victorian tunnels - that is rather than the purpose-built, relatively modern tunnel that they want to vandalise.

Who are our David Abrahams?

We've run a whole series of posts where we've asked questions about things that just don't seem to fit right.

The national news at the moment features a whole host of - speaking frankly - shady, bent bastards who are prepared to open almost any door upon which money knocks.

But buried in the story of Labour's relationship with David Abrahams is the matter of planning permission for a retail park he wanted built in County Durham, alongside the A1. Initially, the Highways Agency had blocked the scheme on the grounds it would cause congestion (!). In October 2006, they changed tack and removed their objection. The excellent Paul Mason touched on it briefly in last night's Newsnight.

We are sure there are local similarities to this situation, some of which we've touched upon, some of which we've yet to look at. We've always smalled a rat, and eventually we will corner it and shine a light on it. You're welcome to help us.

Forewarned is forearmed

Are our suspicions about Trevor Mooney's plans for Dinting Road being confirmed? A visitor to the blog today is worth taking notice of.

Regus provide 'commercial real estate' for companies. In other words, if you're a business and want to rent an office and facilities, they provide it. Let their own words tell you a bit more of what they're about:

Companies of all sizes use Regus solutions to reduce costs and remove the burden of property ownership and management and to have a workplace to suit however they want to work.

Today, more than half of the Fortune 500, along with thousands of small- and medium-sized companies, are outsourcing some part of their office requirements to Regus.

Regus office space, meeting rooms, training rooms and conference rooms are located at premier addresses in city centers, central business districts or business parks with convenient access to major airports or public transportation.

Regus...maintains an aggressive growth strategy.

Regus Group plc is registered in England with company number 4868977 and its registered office is at 3000 Hillswood Drive, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 0RS, UK.

And the latter address confirms it's our visitor, if you look at the detailed search engine results. Their search term in Google? - "brownfield site in Dinting". Trevor Mooney must be licking his lips.

With all this local hostility to SCC, Rossington Park and the Bypass, we wonder if they know what they're letting themselves in for?

Sacrificing all the glories of nature

The letter below appeared in last week's Glossop Chronicle, and whilst it's a little twee in places and seems to be a little too overly-impressed with 'the great and the good' it's worth reading and then comparing with the picture above - an artist's impression of what the bypass will look like, crashing through Swallows Wood.

As a walker/rambler for over 60 years, my favourite location is Swallows Woods, the 60 acre nature reserve at Hollingworth, on the edge of the Peak National Park.

Every year I have visited this lovely area in all the seasons and just as I write, the leaves are just turning and falling, and I am left wondering will this be my last changing of the seasons at
Swallows Wood.

One of my favourite spots to start a ramble has always been at Roe Cross, at Mottram Cutting, and onwards towards Rabbit Lane Hamlet, near the Old Hall and via Thornsett Hall.

Around the area of Mottram Cutting we have the frog stone, an entombed amphibian, which is difficult to find.

It's very small, above head height in the east side of the wall cutting. On the A6018 road and almost nearby, stands 'The Elms', the last home of the great artist L S Lowry, and just 100 yards away, a life size bronze statue of Lowry can be found sitting on a bench.

At the Roe Cross Inn, a footpath public signpost on the right hand side, which leads to Rabbit Lane, we have a wild meadow and an old milestone with a plaque, also an avenue of 40 lime trees donated and planted in 1993 for Queen Elizabeth, by a local school.

On the Old Road near the Roe Cross Inn, the white stone can be found located within a private garden associated with the legendary Sir Ralph De Staveleigh of Stayley Hall.

On Dewsnap Lane can be found built in the wallside at the farmgate near No.1 Cottage, a very old milestone reading 13 or 10 miles to Manchester. You can just make out the lettering.

Soon all this lovely open space and countryside around Swallows Woods, which is very popular with local people and visitors, could soon vanish for ever.

Swallows Wood is a beautiful place for wildlife, and also a very important stopping off place for migrating birds on their epic flight from South Africa.

Also in the Longdendale Valley, Tameside Council is to install four new boundary stones, one in Hollingworth Woolley Lane, and Roe Cross Mottram, and we must not forget the blue plaque which is situated at Etherow Lodge in Longdendale, the former home of the gardener Mr Bill Sowerbutts, of Radio 4's Question Time fame, situated near Arnfield Towers, another one of Longdendale's famous buildings, on the Woodhead Road.

All the things I have mentioned could be lost forever once the bulldozers and earthmovers move in Swallows Woods must be saved for future generations.

Say Goodbye to Woodhead?

Regular readers will be aware that we've written several times over the past few months about the plans that National Grid have to move high voltage cables into the 1954 tunnel at Woodhead, thereby ending any possible future use for the purposes it was built for - train travel and freight on the rails.

Over the past couple of months, things have got worse. In July, a variety of organisations joined with the Peak District National Park Authority to make representations about the threat posed by National Grid's intentions.

But by September, the Government had indicated it had no intention to intervene in the issue. Whilst this was reported and lamented over the other side of the Pennines, the local press over this side has been silent, until prompted by local campaigners. Indeed, the only other reference we can find to this issue locally is on Councillor McKeown's blog (upon which we blogged pointing out the contradictions inherent in the argument the Councillors put forward).

You don't have to be as cynical as we are to see how these delays have conveniently coincided with the Highways Agency's successful attempts to stall the Bypass Public Inquiry. The delays have meant that the timetable for the discussion of alternatives like the Translink proposal has been set further and further back. To those following the PI, it has been clear that the Inspector is keen to hear all about Translink, and he has made a lot of room for them.

But the clincher lies in National Grid's timetable for the planned legal vandalism. Whilst the PDNPA hint that the work will begin within the next 5 to 10 years, we have it on good authority that they are in fact due to start in February 2008. With the latest PI delays, there is no chance that the case for the alternatives will be held before then.

What is at stake in this veritable game of chess should not be underestimated. There is an already existing transpennine route that would require little comparable effort and expense to resurrect, utilising a comparatively environmentally friendly and sustainable mode of transport - which is badly needed. All of which is under threat from a multinational corporation whose only concern and responsibility is returning profits to shareholders. All of which is based on promoting the growth of unsustainable energy use.

We've already pointed out that the Government has indicated that it wants more roads and is indifferent about Rail. The High Peak MP, Tom Levitt, is busy attaching himself to a green energy project that's a drop in the ocean as to what's required to turn things around. But at the same time, he fully backs one massively environmentally damaging project (the Bypass) and remains silent about environmental vandalism (the closure of the Tunnel). What is accrued through this 'business as usual' approach is a huge pile of bullshit that the State is inclined paint bright green. But it still smells like bullshit to us.

There should be a huge head of steam built up around this issue (pardon the pun), not just here, but throughout the North West of England. But time is short. Bold action and initiatives are needed to prevent the destruction of a badly needed form of sustainable transport. Will we show willing? If you want to help, please get in touch. And watch this space for more news.

Re-post: Do We Need More Housing?

We're consistently providing scoops for the press, so when the Glossop Advertiser today published an article on the disaster area that Glossop is becoming, we feel the need to remind them and our readers in the real world of a post by kirtlegreen from nearly 3 weeks ago. Before reading, take some time to look at High Peak Borough Council's new 'Core Strategy Consultation'. You might like to ponder how this 'strategy' will affect planning and consultation in the future, but bear in mind that this is the same Council that gave you Rossington Park, SCC and Trevor Mooney's car park (that no-one uses). And the same crew that will no doubt roll over and have their tummy tickled by Tesco...

At the moment Glossop is a construction site. Wherever the humble pedestrian ventures in this erstwhile quiet market town is impeded by building site fencing, dust clouds, and infill building sites which block their way. Not to mention the random removal of mature trees, followed by the obligatory desultory apology, and swift pinning of blame on other parties. Hitherto pleasant open areas to shop such as Smithy Fold and the Bulldog Shopping Precinct (coincidentally prey to an overnight robbery) are all probably being conducted in the name of Glossop Vision.

No doubt the similar vision which brought Glossop the visionary burnt out Wrens Nest apartment block, the pinnacle planning masterpiece that has brought High Peak Borough Council its flagship planning award.

No question what the vision for Glossop is: eradicate its heritage.

More worryingly this is part of a greater "vision", the strategy of that well known "visionary" and "conviction" politician Gordon Brown, to get rid of the country's rural heritage by abolition of the green belt.

There is an enormous threat to the greenbelt and rural beauty of Great Britain which will be detailed in future blogs.

In the meantime let us ruminate in what is happening in Glossop at present and draw this conclusion. The Council and its Planning Department want building and construction action. They are hooked on it more than any junkie on his daily fix. They do not care about pedestrians or the public, as long as they are able to set records for the most number of yellow clad safety jacket operatives in a single market town, and enhance their reputation for so called "regeneration". Currently frustrated by the Bypass impasse and the Green Built ring fence they are concentrating on making the town a pedestrian no go area with obstructive and burnt out flagship planning projects that do not take human factors into account and are therefore doomed from outset. Even their only other toy, Rossington Park is running into trouble, so they are really going for Glossop as the best place to play Meccano, though Rossington Park watchers need to be very alert as well.

But be warned. In our view like irritable children they will get tired with that game of Glossop as building site, and want further action outside the town before long.

The dangers of Dinting Road

Over the past few weeks, the Glossop Chronicle featured several articles by the pro-bypass journalist David Jones, both focusing on Dinting Road, between Glossop and Hadfield.

The first article was a feature about the latest instalment in the saga that is the 'Park & Ride' next to Dinting Railway Station. A businessman, Trevor Mooney, has blighted the area with this useless lump of tarmac and was moaning in the article that High Peak Borough Council have withdrawn permission to use it for Car Boot sales on Sundays. Apparently, he has had a premonition that the car park is doomed. There have been a succession of similar articles like this over the past few months - Mooney is eager to portray himself as an honest-to-goodness businessman (there's an oxymoron - as well as a moron - in there somewhere) hamstrung by bureaucracy. But the truth is more complex than that.

Firstly, prior to the construction of this park and ride, no one parked their cars halfway down Dinting Road. The mere fact that it was free to park on it for the first few weeks meant that the selfish idiots that now leave their vehicles down the road knew about it in the first place because of the car park (that they no longer use). Where do these people live? If it's near to Glossop - walk to the Railway station there and use it. The same for Hadfield. Surely if you live within 15 minutes of Dinting Station, you can walk? Is it really too much trouble?

That aside, these individuals are creating a very dangerous situation on Dinting Road. The vehicles are parked on one side of the road, from the top of a blind summit which snakes round a bend to nearly halfway down the road. If you're using the road in either direction, you have to hope that no-one is travelling at more than 40 mph (the speed limit on the road) and is paying a lot of attention to the route - it's even more precarious at night and in bad weather. With lorries from the nearby quarry travelling hell-for-leather (time is money) down the hill leaving mud all over the road surface, it is a dangerous route: and all the more so now for Mooney's useless car park.

But the fact his car park is not used suits his plans. Why? Well because after his development, it's now a brownfield site, so he can build on it. If his little venture fails, he'll move on to something else - either 'developing ' it himself or selling it on to someone else who will. As local people know, one of the great things about the Hadfield side of Dinting Road is the view from the Station across land which is unfarmed and uncultivated - and therefore very ecologically diverse. Mooney has done his bit to ruin it.

And over the last two weeks, we've seen Mooney in the Chronicle and the Glossop Advertiser again. His latest wheeze is to promote an idea to build a Golf Driving Range adjoining his car park. Jesus Christ! But hang on - didn't he once have the same wheeze about Wimberry Hill, above Hadfield? And there are rumours flying that there's a link up between Mooney and another businessman who made a Cemetery Road in Glossop a muddy deathtrap for weeks owing to earthworks they created for some ill-fated project a few years back.

Reading these articles, you could almost close your eyes and remember the time when Chris Woodward used to occupy the Chronicle virtually every other week. At one point, that charming individual plumbed the depths by using racism - he threatening to allow Gypsies to park on land he owned that HPBC had refused planning permission for. In a similar way, clad in his undertaker's jacket, Mooney is prone to portraying himself as the victim and using the local press at every opportunity. Who knows what depths he'll eventually plumb to keep his Slobodan Milošević-like fizzog in the local rag.

If anything, High Peak BC have not hindered this moron - they have in fact helped him to create this situation in the first place. Why did they allow his car park to be developed? This crew are continually making idiotic decisions about the environment in the area. Where will it end?

Another recent feature penned by David Jones highlights the hazardous nature of Dinting Road to schoolchildren who have to cross it to get to Hadfield School. They have for years - but now the road is recognised as being far more dangerous. All owing to Mooney - and High Peak BC.

But wait - one of those moaning about the road is Andrew Byford. Remember him? Is this the same guy that had his (best left in the loft) ideas for a Glossop Bypass and plugged them in the local papers earlier this year. So he wants less traffic now?

That's the trouble with the 'leading advocates' of this road, like Jones and to a much-lesser Byford (who is also a Neighbourhood Watch coordinator - thank god!) is that they live in a world full of contradictions. They want less traffic and less congestion, but more roads (is there such a thing as a new road that remains unused by traffic?). They want to shout about the special place that Glossop and the High Peak are (or increasingly were), but froth at the mouth with excitement about the plans of developers whose business plans bring nothing to the area that enhances the environment - and on the contrary makes it worse to inhabit.

"It seems to me it is, in the literal sense of the word, an extraordinary situation in which we find ourselves..."

Those of you that have been following this farce that calls itself a Public Inquiry know the drill by now. The Public Inquiry re-convened today. So, right on cue, the Highways Agency admit that even more of their figures are wrong. Over to the Inspector, John Watson:

Yesterday the Programme Officer had a telephone call from
Louise McCawley, who I understand works for the
Highways Agency. She told him and asked him to tell me, which
is why I am mentioning it now, that more errors had been
found in the traffic modelling and that there may be a delay
in presenting the Environmental Statement later than
30th November. I know nothing more about this. (p.3, line 22)

'lah-de-dah' Charles Calvert for the Highways Agency professed his client's complete incompetence (or wilful tactical ploys...):

it is nigh impossible for us to achieve the date that was set at the last meeting. (p.4, line 10)

And guess what? This also means that their amended evidence, submitted since the last adjournment, is now invalid. Great.

John Watson's view on this (and a priceless quote):

It seems to me it is, in the literal sense of the word, an extraordinary situation in which we find ourselves (p.9, line 21)

Do you think he's pissed off with this charade? He must be at least simmering. But he went on to say that 'the rules' can cope with this situation. The bourgeoisie will always cling to their 'rules' when all else is clearly lost.

The fact of the matter is that the State, represented here by the Highways Agency and their local manifestation TMBC, is playing a game to frustrate the Objector's case. They clearly do not want to the evidence to be heard, but the cold hard fact is that the longer this thing stretches on, the more diminished the resources of the 'official' opposition become.

This is now an all but official war of attrition.

Latest in the roll call of visitors

We love it when our enemies visit. So after our recent post in which we mentioned how 2 of the UK's biggest roadbuilding firms are looking to consolidate into one mega-company, Carillion (not to be confused with the 1980s prog-rockers, Marillion) popped by today.

The best bit is that they landed on the label 'cynical bastards', presumably to look at the good company they are keeping.

Does Ruth Kelly wear a hair shirt?

Perhaps more than any other in recent times, this government's attempts to resolve the inherent contradictions of capitalism through spin - if not concrete reality - are becoming less and less credible. Last week* saw the release of a discussion paper by the Department for Transport that is a perfect illustration of a new and what will prove to be intractable conundrum - how to expand road, rail and air networks whilst seeking to curb CO2 emissions.

The paper signals a disdain for the rail alternatives and sees a future where 'decarbonised' automobiles will need to be accommodated on an ever widening and expanding motorway and road network. Furthermore, they are seeking to fund this expansion through private investment - a logical conclusion to the 'Design Build Finance Operate' initiatives of the 1990s. It's perhaps not so coincidental that two of the largest private road building firms have been courting each other in recent weeks and now look like they will merge shortly: Carillion (contractors for the Longdendale Bypass) & McAlpine (whose 'Green' claim-to-fame is that they built the Eden Project).

Let's be clear: even if all motor vehicles became carbon neutral first thing tomorrow, we'd still be against the expansion of the road network. The motor industry has been a key staple of capitalism since the end of World War 2. Automobiles are the pre-eminent product in this economic system, and the motor industry itself is a key locus for the expansion of capital and the accumulation of surplus value (the primary preoccupation of capitalism). Nothing can stand in it's way, whether it is carbon emitting or carbon neutral, and it could quite conceivably be the latter within the foreseeable future.

The freedom that the car offers is an individual freedom only, and one that can only exist without taking away the freedoms of everyone else. In this way, the State makes a bargain that in return for the ability to go anywhere at any time you choose, unspoilt communal spaces will be increasingly tarmacked over. But now it seems the bargain is going to be even more bizarre than that - the State will guarantee both the freedom to travel and the freedom from anxiety that one will not be polluting the environment. As long as one closes one's eyes to the fact that the landscape around us is being destroyed, it will be possible to have a clean conscience about levels of CO2.

In this case, the empress who has no clothes is Ruth Kelly. In the recent past, she has had the gall to say she receives 'spiritual support' from an organisation that provided both spiritual & political support for the formerly Fascist governments of Spain and Chile. This presumably makes her well qualified to promote the cause of irrationality in the style of the Cosa Nostra, a hallmark of this government's authoritarian approach to almost any issue.

After all, if she has a pang of conscience, she'll no doubt just pull the cilice ever tighter.

*on no more a conspicuous date than All Hallows Eve!

A Toot and a Wave for 'not so Sir' Oldham

Apologies, apologies, apologies - sorry for my absence over the latter part of our glorious summer. There's been 'trouble at mill', & I will inform comrades on a need-to-know basis - basically it's family problems, illness and it's impending doom. Seems to have been hanging over my dad's head like the Sword of Damocles. I only have one head and it has been needed elsewhere - a thousand apologies to all those who matter. I think you know who you are. Anyway, back to business.

On a recent visit to a certain drinking establishment I bumped into a friend of mine, and as is usual when we meet, he sold me a copy of the very excellent periodical NORTHERN VOICES. For those of you who are not familiar with this little literary gem, it tends to offer the reader good, honest, journalistic attempts at some home truths, as well as issues/stories that may be of interest to local people - something our local rags fail in the most miserable fashion (unless of course you are in the market to purchase a conservatory, house, or motor car).

I noticed this little story. I quote directly from source:

GUESS WHO WANTS A KNIGHTHOOD

A regular reader of NV contacted us recently with a juicy bit of information. It seems that he had heard from a council employee that a certain councillor who leads a Greater Manchester Local Authority had gone ballistic when he had learned that the leader of Manchester City Council, Richard Lees, had been honoured with a knighthood. It seems that that the councillor - who covets a knighthood - was so incensed that he'd been overlooked in the honours list that he turned purple with rage and was seen to kick a door in at the council offices where he works. Our source told NV that he was seen 'kickin and a spitten' and shouting, "They're my knighthoods, the bastards"

I'll quote again from Northern Voices:

Next Knight Of Tameside

The voters of Tameside would do well to heed the words of American poet Walt Whitman who once said "rise at once at the never ending audacity of elected persons". That politicians are inclined to become brazen and arrogant the longer they are in office was recognised long ago by the ancient Greeks in Athens, who tended to exile those elected persons that they felt had got too big for their boots. In Tameside, the local Council has been Labour-controlled and led by its leader Roy Oldham since 1979. Mr Oldham, now aged 73, likes to boast that he holds the record for being the longest serving Council leader in the country. Indeed, he has now been in power longer than Robert Mugabe who leads the Zanu PF party in Zimbabwe and seems almost as difficult to get rid of as the ageing dictator. However, in spite of his political longevity, it seems that Councillor Oldham is becoming something of an embarrassment if the letters in the local press are anything to go by. It seems that some people feel that his ego has become almost as inflated as his council salary. This summer (August) he was accused by the leader of the Tory opposition, councillor John Bell, of being on a "massive ego trip" after it was discovered that his house on Back Moor had been etched into a bronze map showing places of historical interest in Mottram. The map, which shows the homes of L S Lowry and the old Post Office, is the first in a series of bronze maps which are intended to showcase the jewels of Tameside's cultural heritage.

Some members of the public have reacted angrily, accusing the council leader of arrogance, megalomania, and of being an embarrassment and a laughing stock. But councillor Oldham, who already has a bridge named after himself in Stalybridge, is unrepentant and insists that placing his house on the map was "just a bit of fun". He told a local newspaper "It's like when a carpenter works in a church and carves a little church mouse on the bottom of an emblem. I don't see why any one should make a problem but there are sad people in all walks of life". Some politicians on Tameside council are not impressed, believing that the leader's arrogance gives politicians a bad name and undermines local government politics. Councillor Bell said "Councillor Oldham's ego has run away with him ... a few years ago, he had CCTV installed at his home at tax payer's expense after a bomb hoax. Now he's drawing attention to himself by putting his home on a map".

THE BIG O?

How to deal WITH THE BIG O. No folks, I'm not talking about Roy Orbison, I'm talking the real BIG O. Our glorious leader, the 'not so Sir' Roy Oldham. In my humble opinion, the only rise Roy needs to hear (a rise sir Roy) is possibly in his trousers - I would not wish the alternative on man or beast, so I suppose that covers Roy in one way or another. Anyway, how can we as a group of like-minded individuals best draw attention to our glorious leader's plight? Well, one idea I've had is to contact all our friends, comrades, political alliances etc and start a campaign to get Mottram renamed Oldhamgrad (I quite fancy the bypass being called the Oldhamgrad/Tnitwistle Bypass). No, only joking - about the bypass, not the new name for Mottram though. I think we should start a campaign to help Roy obtain the accolade and the big 'thank you' he deserves. There it is, the name of our campaign - THE BIG THANK YOU. A campaign from the good and fair people of our land to pay homage and respect to a dedicated local politician who, through his selfless acts and betrayal of local communities, thinks that the needs of us green 'n common folk, are best served by the greed and backscratching of the grubby and vile speculators that follow the Highways Agency long after these middle pigs have concreted over another piece of our green 'n pleasant land.

At the very least I propose we adopt a new strategy: let's take our campaign to a new level, or different direction. Lets help the Big O. I propose at the very least a TOOT AND WAVE POLICY. Let me explain. Was it not Councillor Oldham who was BRASS faced enough to have his home address cast in the same, so that all and sundry will know where the 'not so Sir' Roy resides? Let's ask all our allies - everybody we know - let all campaigners be emailed with his home address and politely ask/invite them to take part in a campaign against this road scheme by tooting and waving as they pass by Roy's house . A cheap, effective campaign that fights on a different front. Lets hope it becomes a relentless barrage of noise and car horn blowing. He seems to like roads and the motor car so lets use them against him. In life you sometimes get what you wish for...

Tricks of the light(s)

Those travelling through Longdendale along the A628 and A57 may well have experienced horrendous traffic jams so far this week. The roads have been packed at peak times, and two facts make us suspicious.

Firstly, it's half term for many schools in the area. Longdendale is noticeably much more pleasant and relatively free of traffic whenever the schools are shut.

Secondly, the jams are taking place as early as 6.30 a.m., which is usually much quieter than peak time.

Could it be anything to do with the fact that the Public Inquiry recommences next week? After all, it wouldn't be the first time that the traffic light sequences in Longdendale have been altered, most notoriously around the time of the ends of previous Bypass consultation periods. And in the past, roadworks also seem to have popped up at similarly coincidental moments.

Is it us that are the cynical ones? Or is it those who think they can manipulate the patience of local people and through-commutersin to back their road proposal which will only bring more of this misery to the area?

*UPDATE: things had returned to normal by Thursday 1st November. Someone must have thrown the switch...

Organ Grinder - or (Road)Munkey?

James Purnell MP is in the news again. It seems there were more fake photo ops, and a BBC Freedom of Information request has nailed his spin that he had no idea about the plans to fake the photos.

But let's read between the lines here. Here' s a quote to savour:

"A spokesman from Mr Purnell's office said it was sent to a general e-mail address used by the constituency office"

His office says he doesn't deal with those emails. So in that case, who does?

Who answers the phone and deals with all James' emails? Stalybridge & Hyde Constituents will know that it's none other than our friend the Parliamentary Political Operative to James Purnell MP - Councillor Sean Parker-Perry (aka Roadmunkey). Oh dear. So did he not tell his boss about the Hospital's plans?

Once again, Parker-Perry is proving himself to be a huge political liability for his MP, the Labour Party and the people of Longdendale. We welcome his further efforts to secure a bypass for Longdendale, because at this rate his 'Midas Touch in reverse' can only scupper any plans for it.

Do We Need More Housing ?

At the moment Glossop is a construction site. Wherever the humble pedestrian ventures in this erstwhile quiet market town is impeded by building site fencing, dust clouds, and infill building sites which block their way. Not to mention the random removal of mature trees, followed by the obligatory desultory apology, and swift pinning of blame on other parties. Hitherto pleasant open areas to shop such as Smithy Fold and the Bulldog Shopping Precinct (coincidentally prey to an overnight robbery) are all probably being conducted in the name of Glossop Vision.

No doubt the similar vision which brought Glossop the visionary burnt out Wrens Nest apartment block, the pinnacle planning masterpiece that has brought High Peak Borough Council its flagship planning award.

No question what the vision for Glossop is: eradicate its heritage.

More worryingly this is part of a greater "vision", the strategy of that well known "visionary" and "conviction" politician Gordon Brown, to get rid of the country's rural heritage by abolition of the green belt.

There is an enormous threat to the greenbelt and rural beauty of Great Britain which will be detailed in future blogs.

In the meantime let us ruminate in what is happening in Glossop at present and draw this conclusion. The Council and its Planning Department want building and construction action. They are hooked on it more than any junkie on his daily fix. They do not care about pedestrians or the public, as long as they are able to set records for the most number of yellow clad safety jacket operatives in a single market town, and enhance their reputation for so called "regeneration". Currently frustrated by the Bypass impasse and the Green Built ring fence they are concentrating on making the town a pedestrian no go area with obstructive and burnt out flagship planning projects that do not take human factors into account and are therefore doomed from outset. Even their only other toy, Rossington Park is running into trouble, so they are really going for Glossop as the best place to play Meccano, though Rossington Park watchers need to be very alert as well.

But be warned. In our view like irritable children they will get tired with that game of Glossop as building site, and want further action outside the town before long.

Look who's looking...

Good old Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft clearly like to keep an eye on what's being said about them (click on image for full details).

Road Closure

Reason to celebrate? Well, not in this case, no. Yesterday saw the culmination of a case brought by the Ramblers Association against BMW and Oxfordshire County Council to prevent the closure of a bridleway. The 2,000 year old path (an old Roman Road) lies in the way of land BMW want to 'develop' (it's that word again).

You can guess the rest. BMW won. After all, nothing stands in the way of the car industry, at least as far as the legal system is concerned. BMW's defence was that the 400 people who used the path daily were mainly people who worked at the plant itself. I suppose in future, they'll all have to drive to work.

(Urban Guerrilla Notice: the BMW was the Red Army Faction's getaway car of choice - not because the RAF were flash gits, but because they used to be easy to hot wire. No doubt they'd have a rather more no-nonsense solution to this matter)

Blog action day

...was yesterday. And we missed it. Oh well.

But over on his blog, sharp-as-a-knife Gamesley Councillor Anthony McKeown reminded us what it's all about:

across the world bloggers are uniting to highlight environmental issues, and hopefully as the organisers say get the world talking towards a better future

And without a hint of irony (or punctuation if the above is anything to go by), Anthony urges us to join the Friends of the Earth's campaign "The Big Ask":

The way the campaign works is by asking you to contact your MP to make sure the Government does the right thing

So it's curtains for humanity then! (And we thought that FoE were only mooting what to do after being courted by Rupert Murdoch. Perhaps they've already made their mind up...)

Getting back to 'blogging about environmental issues', you may remember that Anthony only allows you to comment on his blog if you leave a name (rather than an obviously false name or 'anonymous' - me? I'm Mr Lewin's little boy!). And he's blocked comments critical of High Peak's stance on the bypass in the past. So given the environmental devastation and increase in pollution the bypass will entail, allied with the fact that Ant is for the bypass, what is his blog doing to highlight environmental issues exactly?

His right of reply is guaranteed here. Come on Ant, we'd like a debate!

Meet the new Boss? ...same as the old boss

With all this talk of elections, we thought we'd muse for a minute on that bloke Dave Cameron's speech the other day (let's not forget these are the new Green Tories, and good old Dave has got a wind turbine on his roof - as did one local pipsqueak/councillor at one time). Take this sample...

So, his mother dealt with "the likes of Swampy" did she? It's easy to mock people who are (seemingly) not as strong, but it's also better to choose those who were the least effective - Direct Action stopped the Tories road building programme dead in it's tracks in the 1990s, and it will do the same with Labour's - or even the Tories if they have their jackboot on our necks again in a few weeks time. We too "fight for what we believe in and the changes we want to make" despite "the likes of you". Bring it on Dave...

And as an antidote to all that guff, here's a rejoinder to this Toff's mocking tones from good old Dan Hooper himself...

Spot the fake...

After noticing that a weblog has popped up documenting James Purnell's fake photo album, here's a little gallery of clearly fake photos that can be added:

Purnell lurking around the rear entrance to the Stalybridge Civic Hall...


...lurking around the front....


...and joined by a few friends.

All of these people - James Purnell MP, Cllr Roy Oldham, Mike Flynn, Tom Levitt MP, Cllr Sean Parker-Perry & Cllr Jonathan Reynolds - have not and will not be appearing at the Public Inquiry (held at the Civic Hall) to defend their cause, the Longdendale Bypass...

What a bunch of fakes

'Fake Purnell' on the loose in Tameside

The media are all over the Stalybridge & Hyde MP James Purnell. It seems that the MP has been 'photoshopped' into a photo-opportunity at Tameside Hospital for this week's press that he didn't actually attend (dutifully carried by the Glossop Chronicle/Tameside Reporter).

And as we've been noting over the past few months, Purnell's staff love to mess with the internet. We chronicled how a member of Purnell's staff, Longdendale Councillor Sean Parker-Perry, had been behind the now dormant 'roadmunkey' weblog and was extremely active in altering wikipedia articles about his boss, as well as other articles like the Longdendale Bypass (some bright spark has begun to chronicle these edits here).

We wonder has this will all turn out for Purnell and his minions? We'll add more when time allows...

**10.30 p.m. update - the story's set to run, with Purnell employing the 'broken record' approach with Gordon Burns on tonight's North West Tonight (video below) - very reminiscent of Michael Howard vs Jeremy Paxman! Contradictions abound and Purnell is on the ropes. But will the media latch on to the equally dodgy meddlings of his underlings?

Cutting off your nose to spite your face

A new report released yesterday revealed that 71% of workers in the UK travel by car. What's more, the report's authors urged both the government & employers to encourage people to use their cars less.

The report was compiled using data from DEFRA and the DfT and revealed that 1 in 10 workers spend more than 2 hours in their cars to travel an average commute of 8.7 miles (that's a speed of less than 5 miles per hour - it's almost quicker to walk).

What's more, the North West of England was found to be the most hazardous region to travel in terms of collision rates, travel times and levels of CO2.

The report's authors? Those well known tree-huggers the RAC.

It comes to something when an organisation that exists to capitalise from the motor industry (and not 'motorists' who are fictional constituency) is calling for alternatives.

Yesterday's North West Tonight devoted a fair slice of their programme to this report, and contrasted it with the daily experience of rail commuters in the region who are precariously packed like sardines into trains each morning and evening (see below). This truly ridiculous state of affairs could indicate that either demand for the railways is growing fast, or that the network is seriously underfunded and neglected - or both.

And all of this relates perfectly to the Longdendale Bypass. If the conundrums and contradictions that capitalism produces never cease to amaze you, then you'll love the fact that the National Grid want to use the Woodhead Tunnels to store cables, a plan which will jeopardise the use of the tunnels for the purpose for which they were built - train travel. That's the same National Grid that have objected to the bypass (you can their objections here and here) on the grounds that it will harm their assets and infrastructure. The cynical bastards want to have their cake and eat it.

But if you want even more cynical bastards you can take your pick. As we've reported before, High Peak Borough Council are against the plans for Woodhead Tunnel, but for the bypass. Tom Levitt is silent, but this lick-spittle is only reflecting the silence of his masters - Ruth 'Cilice' Kelly has remained silent about the issue. And you would have thought that Roy Oldham would have been up in arms about it - he was energised enough in 1980 about the closure of the Woodhead Line to appear at the Public Inquiry to protest.

The conspiracy of silence over this potential act of desecration only fools those who look to these people for leadership. We are facing a future where the car is clearly going nowhere, both metaphorically and literally in years to come. We need another way, and those campaigning for roads have misread the signs leading only to oblivion.

Pull the other one...

It won't have escaped anyone's notice, but last week the Public Inquiry was adjourned unexpectedly for the second time. The Inquiry will briefly reconvene on November 6th, giving the Highways Agency time to re-work some of their evidence, and then again on December 18th to deal with the rest of it. The Objectors will now have to wait until 2008 to present their evidence again.

At this stage, it would seem to naive to believe anything other than that this is a tactical charade by the Highways Agency. By the time their case is over, they will have had nearly 2 years to formulate their case to bring before the public - so one questions if that is really the problem. Unlike the State, the Objectors do not have bottomless pockets to fund their part in this charade, and individual objectors can get fed up with the constant delays. The Highways Agency want to turn everyone off with their slow, grinding misery of an approach.

And, of course, the Inspector lets them carry on with it. At the Inquiry, he has been largely subservient to their whims. Faced with complaints, he can only offer Objectors a bit more time to change their evidence, and makes vague references that Objectors can point out how they have been disadvantaged by the actions of the HA, and that he will take a view when writing his report. This is cold comfort.

In a Court of Law, the actions of the Highways Agency may well by now have been regarded as 'abuse of process', and their case may have been dismissed. But not here.

And it seems that both sides are in agreement that this thing needs to be wrapped up. Channel M dutifully reported on matters once more (see above), and that's the impression one gets from their report. But it does have some anomalies.

In it, Mike Flynn of the Longdendale Siege Comittee puts in an appearance again. Standing but a stroll away from his house on Wedneshough Green in Hollingworth, he laments the time it is all taking. Notice how he's nowhere near the Inquiry. As we've pointed out before, he's prepared to mouth platitudes for Television and his best mates at the Reporter Group Newspapers, but he hasn't the bottle to stand up at the Inquiry and tell us all why he wants this road. What a Weasel...

The second problem is that the video shows Brookfield near Hadfield when talking about 'diverting traffic away from the villages of Mottram, Tintwistle and Hollingworth'. What's more, it's traffic heading into Glossop, and away from the area. Pull the other one, it's got bells on...

Glossop Critical Mass - on video

As promised, video-pixies have finished their work on the video of the first Glossop Critical Mass, and the world premiere is here!

One thing to note - this week's Glossop Chronicle has tried to play down the Critical Mass by saying there were 'less than a dozen' present. Not so, there were 14 taking part (including one very small non-cycling passenger) which is in our opinion is a pretty damn good start, garnering a lot of attention. We're sure there will be far more next time.

Critical Mass - success!

Last Friday saw a dozen people attend for the inaugural Glossop Critical Mass. Glossop had seen nothing like it - all kinds of cyclists, including a mobile sound system, with people coming from as far afield as Manchester and Trafford (cycling all the way to Glossop and back from it!) to attend. Plus some friends from Glossop Kinder Velo.

We certainly attracted a lot of attention - along with a van load of police and a motorcycle policeman. We're clearly doing something right.

And the press attention has followed in its wake - today's Manchester Evening News gave away a half page article and photo, along with a page on their website. The latter is attracting a fair amount of debate (with predictable comments from petrolheads), so please feel free to join in.

The organisers, Road Alert Glossop, are keen to repeat the event in the not too distant future, although next month's clock changes mean Friday evenings will be out until 2008.

We are told that video-pixies were present to film some of the proceedings, and that a film will follow soon...

Critical Mass - Glossop to Swallows Wood: this Friday 14th September

A reminder that this Friday, 14th September sees the inaugural Critical Mass for the area, organised by fellow campaigners Road Alert Glossop .

The Critical Mass has already received local press coverage, and the group have a thriving myspace page which is attracting a lot of support. Here's their press release:

We're staging a Critical Mass bike ride on 14th September 2007, to celebrate Car Free Day and to demonstrate that bikes and people should be catered for on our roads, not just cars and traffic.

We'll be setting off from Glossop train station at 5.30 pm and will be riding out to Swallow's Wood near Tintwistle where we'll stop at a local pub. The wood is threatened by a new bypass they are planning to build between Mottram and Tintwistle.

The route is fairly flat and about 4 miles in total. It's suitable for riders of all types. Please bring a bike and wear high vis clothing.

Our aim is not to stop traffic but to make the presence of bikes on the roads more visible so please be aware of other traffic and road users.

Please make some time to support this great development in the campaign against the bypass.

9/11 - for the Highways Agency & TMBC - exclusive

You can read it here before you'll read it anywhere else, but today brings news that the Highways Agency have chosen today (of all days) to announce at the Public Inquiry that they had done their sums seriously wrong. Again.

Stephen Greenhalgh, the leader of the Highways Agency team, took his place to explain how their figures regarding traffic were incorrect, and that this meant that a whole slew of their other evidence would have to be reviewed alongside this, as well as Tameside's for the Spur. His words:

"I consider it to be a fundamental issue"

And so do we. It's clear that they've been rumbled (they admitted that the evidence of an objector had made them think again) - their 'back of fag packet' sums are a sure sign that they want this road and to hell with the science, ecology, pollution, the whole lot: "just do anything to get this road through". There's little doubt that's been said by someone, somewhere.

The Inquiry has now been adjourned to next Wednesday 19th September, when they will explain how much of their evidence has been 'written off'.

So this sham which they have been spinning for months now takes another twist - and it will certainly not be over in 2007. Their credibility is fatally flawed, and if this road is legally allowed to go ahead who the hell will believe it is a 'just decision', whatever that means.

They may as well start work now for all the difference it will make...

***update, 12/09/2007: the MEN are carrying the story today, and others are trumpeting the story as an 'MEN exclusive' - ppffft!!

Traffic congestion: Tameside leads the way (& wants yet more)

A delicious irony appeared in national and regional press today. The Campaign for Better Transport (aka Transport 2000 - yes, they realised the millennium was 7 years ago) issued a press release about their research into government stats which illustrate some shocking facts about the ever-ongoing growth of congestion and car culture.

The government predicts that traffic will increase by 30% over the next 20 years, with 5.7 million extra vehicles being on the road by 2031. Is it any wonder then that Labour has done an abrupt volte-face since 1997 and is spawning a massive road-building programme?

And it seems that Greater Manchester is the worst area with - wait for it - Tameside showing the fastest growth over the past 10 years (38.6%). So what's Roy Oldham, got to say about it?:

"We have great amounts of cross-Pennine traffic as well as people making their way to the Peak District.

Over the past decade, thousands of people have bought homes in Derbyshire and the only way for them to get into Manchester is through Tameside - cars are nose to tail in the morning and evening.

The Peak District also has more than 21 million visitors a year, which further adds to congestion. We need better public transport systems with some regulation by the councils as well as park-and-ride systems which really work."

So it's the fault of the Peak District? It is surprising that Roy hasn't taken the opportunity to underline this is a reason why Longdendale needs a Bypass. But he's surely looking in the wrong direction, for the M60 and Ashton Moss provide part of the answer to this conundrum. And it's common sense to state that building extra road capacity generates extra traffic (though it's a fact hotly contested by the devious and thick-as-pigshit alike).

Need we also remind people that in 1980, Roy Oldham appeared at the Public Inquiry into the closure of the Woodhead railway line, lamenting that it would spell vast increases in traffic from across the pennines? We've blogged before about this before, but it's worth restating that this man now advocates a new road that will increase the traffic problems from that direction. Like his Party, he's also done a volte-face with regard to his position on transport.

What is at stake? Road transport is a key contributor to climate change through CO2 emissions: indeed, it's the only sector where the government predicts emissions will rise. Their response? To massively increase the road building programme. Roy Oldham and Tameside MBC clearly wholeheartedly agree.

But this cannot go on. Putting the discussion about solutions to one side, expansion of the road network cannot go on, neither can the increase in car ownership - or at least it cannot be allowed to. The way things stand is that Longdendale could turn out to be the crucible in which the battle over the future road transport policy is fought. Alongside our collective attitude to the environment. And alongside our attitudes to our collective green space (i.e. the National Parks). What else is at stake (and what underpins it all) will be discussed on this blog as time goes on...

Look who came to dinner!

There are times when you know you're obviously having an effect due to the type of visitors you're getting.

And yesterday, we had a visit from one of the biggest villains in terms of roadbuilding - Balfour Beatty. To make it even sweeter, they weren't just browsing - they were looking for us (via Google). Our reputation is clearly spreading far and wide...

Do as I say, & not as I do...

Everyone in Tameside - and beyond - has reason to be disappointed with this Public Inquiry. Why?

Well, it seems that the biggest local advocates for this bypass - that is Roy Oldham and his brother-in-law Mike Flynn, Chairman of the Longdendale Siege Committee - will not be appearing to give evidence in support of it. This is clear because phase 2 of the PI is about to start, and the case for the Promoters and Supporters is over.

So when they mewl and puke in the press, as did Flynn in last week's Glossop Chronicle, about the weakness of Objector's evidence and the strength of theirs, it is all crap. Because if they are so sure of their case, why are they not prepared to go on public record to defend it?

What have they go to hide? Why are they so afraid?

After all, wasn't this their golden opportunity, their moment? Let's face it, they're both getting on in years - especially Oldham - & there won't be another opportunity. And for those who think this bypass is a good idea, it would give Oldham and Flynn huge cachet in their eyes were they to have the guts to defend it in public. Instead, it's not to be, and Flynn is urging 'supporters' to turn up and ask 'hard questions' of objectors (which is actually not possible now - he hasn't been paying attention, or attending for that matter). But he is not prepared to do so himself.

We know that Mike Flynn did not produce a statement of case or proof of evidence. Indeed, he did not even write in to support the bypass - what odd behaviour from a 'spokesperson'/chairperson.

And we know Oldham submitted a Statement of Case/Proof of Evidence - so why doesn't this appear on the PI website? His fellow Longdendale councillors have done so - has the programme officer overlooked Oldham's evidence, forgotten to scan it and upload it? It seems unlikely.

In the absence of any reasonable explanation, we can only infer that they are spineless, and don't believe their evidence will stand up. They prefer to leave it to the professionals such as the barristers who are as adept at using smoke and mirrors in the PI environment as Oldham and Flynn are in the press. We recognise them for what they are, and so should everyone else.