Inspector John Watson opened the public inquiry into the Highways Agency's revised proposals for the Longdendale bypass on Tuesday, June 26 at Stalybridge Civic Hall, Trinity Street, Stalybridge. It was adjourned on Thursday, July 12 and resumed on Tuesday, September 4.

The inquiry was dramatically adjourned again on Tuesday, September 11 after the Highways Agency admitted it had got its figures wrong.

The inquiry resumed on Wednesday, September 19 and then adjourned again to allow the Highways Agency to work out its corrections.

The inquiry resumed on Tuesday, November 6 but the Highways Agency asked for another adjournment after its own checks revealed mistakes in the revised evidence.

John Hall, who represents the people of Denton and Audenshaw, said he found the Highways Agency's actions 'unbelievable'.

He said: "The incompetence is absolutely staggering and it is an insult to the inquiry. This is going to descend into more farce than it is at the moment."

Mr Hall repeated earlier calls for the hearing to be halted as it was 'no longer credible'.

Mr Watson said: "It is an extraordinary situation, but it is not one we can't cope with."

He said he would adjourn the hearing again until Tuesday, December 18.

The transcript of the hearing on Tuesday, November 6 is available here.

When the inquiry reopened on Tuesday, December 18 it was
adjourned indefinitely "pending the publication of revised evidence by the Highways Agency and Tameside MBC".

The Highways Agency had lodged a new document (HA/73) which says: "The HA intend to revise the original Proofs of Evidence, Environmental Statement and other relevant documents. It is expected that this information will not be available until after Easter 2008. This is because the traffic forecasts upon which much of the evidence is based will not be finalised until early 2008."

The transcript of the hearing on Tuesday, December 18 is available here.

Stephen Greenhalgh, the Highways Agency's project leader for the bypass, has moved on and been replaced by Alex Bywaters. A Highways Agency spokesman told the Tameside Reporter (31 January 2008): "As with most organisations, the Highways Agency workers change jobs from time to time and are offered promotion opportunities. The previous project manager has been asked to take on several new schemes within the agency and a replacement has been appointed."

The inquiry has now been adjourned four times to allow the Highways Agency to correct their figures. The bypass, if approved, is expected to cost £183 millions. The project has already cost £13.7 millions.

The Highways Agency told Inspector John Watson on Monday, March 10 that their revised evidence will not now be available until October 2008. Details here.

John Hall from Denton, one of the objectors to the bypass, has written to the inspector saying that the public inquiry is being held under "deliberate and knowingly false pretences and the Bypass objectives have been kept hidden by TMBC [Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council] Councillors and those within the administration, plus The Highways Agency, UK Government, and developers and speculators".

The hidden agenda, he says, is that Tameside is co-ordinating proposals for a North European Trade Axis - an "M62 mark 2". Details here.

Secretary of State for Transport, Tom Harris, told Robert Goodwill MP (Scarborough and Whitby) in a written answer on May 6, 2008 that the public inquiry had sat for 15 days between June 26 and December 15, 2007 and that the the scheme had incurred costs of £15 millions.

John Watson, the inspector holding the public inquiry, gave The Highways Agency a week (from Wednesday, June 4) to reply to these questions:


"Does the Highways Agency still intend to submit revised evidence to the inquiry? And if so when?"

The inquiry was adjourned indefinitely in December 2007 "pending the publication of revised evidence by the Highways Agency and Tameside MBC".

The Highways Agency told the inspector in March 2008 that: "It is anticipated that initial revised traffic forecast information for the scheme and the Glossop Spur will be produced by the end of May 2008, and that a firm programme will be available then."

The Highways Agency appointed Mowlem PLC under the Highways Agency’s Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) initiative, to take the scheme forward. This allows for detailed planning work to be carried out while the scheme is taken through the statutory procedures.

On 31st January 2006 The Secretary of State published the proposals in the form of Draft Orders. The published Orders included proposals to:

• Bypass sections of the A57 and A628 passing through the villages of Mottram, Hollingworth and Tintwistle within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside and the County of Derbyshire. The bypassed sections are between the M67 eastern Terminal Roundabout at Hattersley and Townhead Farm on the east side of Tintwistle over a distance of approximately 5 kilometres [Draft Line Order];
• Provide route restraint measures on the bypass and at Flouch;
• Provide for a length of the A57 and the A628 that is to be superseded by the bypass, to cease to be a trunk road [Draft Detrunking Order];
• Provide for the stopping up of existing highways and private means of access, to improve and alter existing highways and to construct new highways and accesses that may be necessary for the construction of the new bypass and the route restraint measures at Flouch [Draft Side Roads Orders];
• Compulsorily purchase land and rights required for the construction of the scheme including essential mitigation works [Draft Compulsory Purchase Order].

The public and other interested organisations were allowed a period of 13 weeks until 5th May 2006 to express their support, comment on, or object to the proposals. A large number of people have written in with their views and each person or organisation expressing a written view will receive a full response to the points that they have raised.
 
The Government has, for the first time, given regions a say in decision-making about transport schemes that affect them at regional and local levels. The Mottram to Tintwistle Bypass is one of those schemes that is considered at a regional level. The North West Regional Assembly presented advice to Ministers in January 2006 and provided a revised sequencing of priority schemes in June 2006.

On 6th July 2006 The Secretary of State for Transport responded to this advice and confirmed that funding provision should be made for the A628 Mottram -Hollingworth-Tintwistle bypass beyond 2010/11. Accordingly, the Highways Agency will continue to progress the scheme through the statutory procedures so that it is ready to start works as soon as funding is available within the Regional Funding Allocation.

The change to the proposed timing of construction and funding for the project required a review of the published Environmental Statement and its re publication together with the associated draft Orders.

Revised traffic modelling was undertaken to represent the new opening (2015) year for the scheme and the incorporation of additional route restraint measures. The Secretary of State therefore published the revised draft Orders and Environmental Statement on 9th February 2007.

The publication of the revised draft Orders allowed interested parties to examine the revised proposals and to offer comments in the form of support, objections or other representations. The period for these comments ended on 30 March 2007. Further letters of objection and support were received during the Objection period.

Following the end of the Objection period the Highways Agency issued a letter to all parties who have provided comments on the original and republished proposals. This confirmed the intention to hold a Public Inquiry commencing on 26 June 2007.

The letter confirmed the appointment of Mr Chris Banks of Persona Associates as Programme Officer for the Inquiry. His role is to provide the interface between the Inspector and those who participate in the Inquiry, to arrange the Inquiry programme and to maintain the Inquiry library.

On 27 April 2007 the Highways Agency published its Statement of Case. This is a written statement which contains full particulars of the case which the Highways Agency proposes to put forward at the Public Inquiry. In addition to the Statement of Case, the Highways Agency provided details of the deposit points where a copy of every document or relevant part of any document which is referred to or put in evidence may be inspected free of charge. These deposit locations are as follows:

• Stalybridge Civic Hall Trinity Street, Stalybridge, Cheshire SK15 2BN
• Stocksbridge Library, Manchester Road, Stocksbridge, Sheffield S36 1DH

A Pre Inquiry Meeting was held on 1 May 2007 at Stalybridge Civic Hall. Its purpose was to help all involved prepare for the Inquiry. A copy of the notes produced following this meeting can be obtained by contacting Chris Banks, the programme officer on 01403 217799. Chris can also be contacted for details of the website that has been sent up for the Public Inquiry.
 
The Public Inquiry commenced at 10 am on 26 June at Stalybridge Civic Hall, Trinity Street, Stalybridge, Cheshire. SK15 2BN. Evidence was presented by the Highways Agency for the Bypass and by Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council for the Glossop Spur Road.

Evidence was heard in support of the Scheme from various parties and some objectors have also presented their case. The Inquiry adjourned on 12 July 2007 for the summer holidays. Further objections to the Scheme will be heard when the Inquiry re-opens.
 
Several alternatives to the Highways Agency’s Published scheme have been suggested, and as such, consideration is being given to each of them. Details of these alternatives can be found in the booklet headed “A57/A628 Mottram Tintwistle Bypass and A628/A616 Route Restraint Measures – Objectors’ Alternative Proposals to the Draft Orders Published in February 2007”.

This booklet is found in the publications page of this scheme website. Anyone wishing to comment on the Objectors Alternative proposals should do so as soon as possible (and by 13 September at the latest) by writing to:

A57/A628 Mottram Tintwistle Team,
Highways Agency,
Stalybridge Civic Hall,
Trinity Street,
Stalybridge
SK15 2BN  

The Highways Agency DOES NOT support these alternative proposals.
All comments received will be passed to the Inspector for his consideration.
The Inquiry will re convene on Tuesday 4 September at 10am

Following the Inquiry the Inspector will produce a report making a recommendation based on the evidence presented by the Highways Agency, the objectors, the supporters and anybody who has made a representation during the Inquiry

The decision whether to proceed with the scheme will be taken after the Secretary of State for Transport has considered the Inspector’s Report.