Hollingworth BypassHollingworth BypassA blog which opposes the construction of the Hollingworth Bypass with a commitment to preserve green areas. Articles
'Squire' Bywaters - meet Ned Ludd
2008-02-08 16:00:00 Last week, the Glossop Chronicle covered another of our scoops. Yes, they had news that Stephen Greenhalgh has left the Highways Agency team in charge of the Bypass. and that Alex Bywaters has taken over.The Chronicle has a most unlikely quote from a Highways Agency official, who states that Greenhalgh has been asked to take on other 'new schemes' in the Agency. We'll do our best to keep our eye on this, it should provide a laugh if nothing else.But Bywaters has a pedigree. It seems he was leader of the 'North Team' which has presided over moves to widen the M1 motorway. This is a scheme that has met fierce resistance, with the police employing methods worthy of the Gestapo against those opposed to it. It's also been notorious as swallowing huge amounts of money - the Observer reported that the scheme was costing £21 million per mile last year (perhaps we need a new counter in the side column to illustrate how similarly expensive our bypass is?).Regular readers know how much ... More About: Meet
'Squire' Bywaters - meet Ned Ludd
2008-02-08 16:00:00 Last week, the Glossop Chronicle covered another of our scoops. Yes, they had news that Stephen Greenhalgh has left the Highways Agency team in charge of the Bypass. and that Alex Bywaters has taken over.The Chronicle has a most unlikely quote from a Highways Agency official, who states that Greenhalgh has been asked to take on other 'new schemes' in the Agency. We'll do our best to keep our eye on this, it should provide a laugh if nothing else.But Bywaters has a pedigree. It seems he was leader of the 'North Team' which has presided over moves to widen the M1 motorway. This is a scheme that has met fierce resistance, with the police employing methods worthy of the Gestapo against those opposed to it. It's also been notorious as swallowing huge amounts of money - the Observer reported that the scheme was costing £21 million per mile last year (perhaps we need a new counter in the side column to illustrate how similarly expensive our bypass is?).Regular readers know how much ... More About: Meet
Travelodge/Submarine plan vanishes...(or sinks without trace)
2008-02-07 21:39:00 We were going to write about this in depth (approximately 4 fathoms), especially after David Jones' gushing article in last week's Glossop Chronicle. But it seems that Cllr Anthony McKeown has told us that Shepherd Developments has withdrawn it's plan for a Submersible Travelodge in Hadfield, presumably now that the Environment Agency have objected once again.So for now, we can only sit back and smile at David Jones' blurb saying that High Peak Borough Council is 'committed to promoting Glossop as a holiday destination' - yes, lots of people want to stay at a 'luxury' hotel that is slap bang next to a huge roundabout & main road (Glossop Spur) and not far from a load of ugly grey industrial development (Etherow & Rossington Park). Lots of business people needing a stop off a (soon to be) motorway on their way to somewhere else that is...There's little doubt that Shepherd Developments will re-submit their application again - this project is pinned to hopes that the G... More About: Sinks , Submarine , Plan
Travelodge/Submarine plan vanishes...(or sinks without trace)
2008-02-07 21:39:00 We were going to write about this in depth (approximately 4 fathoms), especially after David Jones' gushing article in last week's Glossop Chronicle. But it seems that Cllr Anthony McKeown has told us that Shepherd Developments has withdrawn it's plan for a Submersible Travelodge in Hadfield, presumably now that the Environment Agency have objected once again.So for now, we can only sit back and smile at David Jones' blurb saying that High Peak Borough Council is 'committed to promoting Glossop as a holiday destination' - yes, lots of people want to stay at a 'luxury' hotel that is slap bang next to a huge roundabout & main road (Glossop Spur) and not far from a load of ugly grey industrial development (Etherow & Rossington Park). Lots of business people needing a stop off a (soon to be) motorway on their way to somewhere else that is...There's little doubt that Shepherd Developments will re-submit their application again - this project is pinned to hopes that the G... More About: Sinks , Submarine , Plan
Ruth Kelly is number crunching
2008-02-05 22:40:00 Better Transport has news (on their 1st February blog) that Ruth Kelly and the Department for Transport are spending a lot of time pouring over the relative costs of various road schemes around the country. 'Cost Escalation' is now an issue, so here's a quote:"Over the next couple of months I will be taking a firm view of what roads are being prioritised. It's absolutely the case there are tough choices to be made. We will have to look right across the roads programme to see what is desirable. What we need to do is have a rigorous look at the figures and be clear about what we can afford and what we cannot afford? I hope to be in a position in the next few months to make a definitive statement about where we are on cost and which roads we are committed to seeing delivered"So it's not really a surprise when our spies report that Roy Oldham stated at the last full Council meeting of TMBC that he was seeking an urgent meeting with Kelly. Remember the news the other week that he wa... More About: Ruth Kelly , Number
Ruth Kelly is number crunching
2008-02-05 22:40:00 Better Transport has news (on their 1st February blog) that Ruth Kelly and the Department for Transport and spending a lot of time pouring over the numbers of various road schemes around the country. 'Cost Escalation' is now an issue, so here's a quote:"Over the next couple of months I will be taking a firm view of what roads are being prioritised. It's absolutely the case there are tough choices to be made. We will have to look right across the roads programme to see what is desirable. What we need to do is have a rigorous look at the figures and be clear about what we can afford and what we cannot afford? I hope to be in a position in the next few months to make a definitive statement about where we are on cost and which roads we are committed to seeing delivered"So it's not really a surprise when our spies report that Roy Oldham stated at the last full Council meeting of TMBC that he was seeking an urgent meeting with Kelly. Remember the news the other week that he was also ... More About: Ruth Kelly , Number
Longdendale Bypass secretly opened?
2008-02-03 15:00:00 We were quite shocked to discover this week that the Longdendale Bypass has secretly opened. Here we are, in the midst of fighting it with the opposition foaming at the mouth over the Public Inquiry delays, and it seems the Highways Agency's Doozers have been at work constructing it.Not only that, but Tameside have renamed one of the villages.The evidence? This article in the Manchester Evening News about bad weather contained this line:A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police confirmed that the wind also caused the A57 Snake Pass, between Manchester and Sheffield, and the A628 Mottram-Tintwhistle bypass to be closed this morning.MEN journalist John Scheerhout clearly has inside information, unless he talked to Mike Flynn who is now content to issue black propaganda. Nothing would surprise us anymore... More About: Opened
Longdendale Bypass secretly opened?
2008-02-03 15:00:00 We were quite shocked to discover this week that the Longdendale Bypass has secretly opened. Here we are, in the midst of fighting it with the opposition foaming at the mouth over the Public Inquiry delays, and it seems the Highways Agency's Doozers have been at work constructing it.Not only that, but Tameside have renamed one of the villages.The evidence? This article in the Manchester Evening News about bad weather contained this line:A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police confirmed that the wind also caused the A57 Snake Pass, between Manchester and Sheffield, and the A628 Mottram-Tintwhistle bypass to be closed this morning.MEN journalist John Scheerhout clearly has inside information, unless he talked to Mike Flynn who is now content to issue black propaganda. Nothing would surprise us anymore... More About: Opened
Purnell - scouring the Shire with his trusty 'staff'
2008-01-30 22:00:00 We're way behind with things here. But we're slowly catching up on visitors, and going back a couple of weeks, we had a most intriguing visit.It seems someone from Trader Media Ltd (an arm of the Guardian Media Group) had landed on our site after searching google with the phrase "Purnell's staff". Whatever could they mean?Do they mean the mighty staff with which he is about to smite the most vulnerable sections of society (Nu Labour translation: "raising skills", "credible ladders of opportunity", "Arbeit Macht Frei" etc, ad nauseum)? Perhaps. Or were they looking for a pipsqueak (a now completely silent one at that). More likely.The rest is a mystery to us. But watch this space. More About: Staff
Purnell - scouring the Shire with his trusty 'staff'
2008-01-30 22:00:00 We're way behind with things here. But we're slowly catching up on visitors, and going back a couple of weeks, we had a most intriguing visit.It seems someone from Trader Media Ltd (an arm of the Guardian Media Group) had landed on our site after searching google with the phrase "Purnell's staff". Whatever could they mean?Do they mean the mighty staff with which he is about to smite the most vulnerable sections of society (Nu Labour translation: "raising skills", "credible ladders of opportunity", "Arbeit Macht Frei" etc, ad nauseum)? Perhaps. Or were they looking for a pipsqueak (a now completely silent one at that). More likely.The rest is a mystery to us. But watch this space. More About: Staff
Woolley Bridge Floods
2008-01-26 22:56:00 This week's floods in the Glossop area have again been big news, with articles in both the Advertiser & Chronicle.But the only hint of a wider view of this problem came in the Advertiser, with a quote from a resident of Woolley Lane:"We told the council when a new house was built next door two years ago that this area was a flood plain"Indeed. There's a new housing development being built not far from the flooded area, as well as a Hotel/Travelodge as we reported previously (and whose previously blocked planning proposal is being resurrected - a report will come soon).So it'll be really interesting to see what happens if the Glossop Spur is built, because the river Etherow tends to burst its banks all along the area where the roundabout from the A57 will be. The picture above gives a projected view of what the possible road signs will need to indicate, because this is the third time major flooding has occurred here this century... More About: Bridge , Floods
Woolley Bridge Floods
2008-01-26 22:56:00 This week's floods in the Glossop area have again been big news, with articles in both the Advertiser & Chronicle.But the only hint of a wider view of this problem came in the Advertiser, with a quote from a resident of Woolley Lane:"We told the council when a new house was built next door two years ago that this area was a flood plain"Indeed. There's a new housing development being built not far from the flooded area, as well as a Hotel/Travelodge as we reported previously (and whose previously blocked planning proposal is being resurrected - a report will come soon).So it'll be really interesting to see what happens if the Glossop Spur is built, because the river Etherow tends to burst its banks all along the area where the roundabout from the A57 will be. The picture above gives a projected view of what the possible road signs will need to indicate, because this is the third time major flooding has occurred here this century... More About: Bridge , Floods
Exit Kojak, sorry Stephen Greenhalgh...
2008-01-23 23:34:00 News has reached us that the Highways Agency's North Team, in charge of the Longdendale Bypass, has a new leader.Correspondence sent out to certain objectors today is signed off by one Alex Bywaters, as Project Leader MP North Team M2 Manchester - Stephen Greenhalgh's old job.So did he fall or was he pushed? Unlike his doppelganger Kojak, he didn't exactly exude confidence at the Public Inquiry. He came across as a rather clammy, insecure individual lacking in confidence. He's clearly had to fall on his sword for what could be a number of reasons - perhaps to satiate Roy Oldham's impatience, clearing the decks for a different approach when the PI resumes? Perhaps to create the impression that the delays are to do with incompetence, rather than other 'grand designs', as we've suggested recently.Maybe if he'd stuck a lollipop in his mouth and drawled 'who loves ya baby' at John Watson things might have been different?
Exit Kojak, sorry Stephen Greenhalgh...
2008-01-23 23:34:00 News has reached us that the Highways Agency's North Team, in charge of the Longdendale Bypass, has a new leader.Correspondence sent out to certain objectors today is signed off by one Alex Bywaters, as Project Leader MP North Team M2 Manchester - Stephen Greenhalgh's old job.So did he fall or was he pushed? Unlike his doppelganger Kojak, he didn't exactly exude confidence at the Public Inquiry. He came across as a rather clammy, insecure individual lacking in confidence. He's clearly had to fall on his sword for what could be a number of reasons - perhaps to satiate Roy Oldham's impatience, clearing the decks for a different approach when the PI resumes? Perhaps to create the impression that the delays are to do with incompetence, rather than other 'grand designs', as we've suggested recently.Maybe if he'd stuck a lollipop in his mouth and drawled 'who loves ya baby' at John Watson things might have been different?
The Longdendale jigsaw puzzle
2008-01-23 23:24:00 The Bypass Jigsaw is looking quite interesting, as the pieces and associations click together.Here we have Carillion PLC - preparation costs for the Public Inquiry - £4,944,274Now Carillion PLC bought Mowlem PLC (a previous contractor for the bypass) and their preparation costs for the PI are £4,577,105 - give or take a few pence.But hang on, who supports the Bypass? Well, the North West Development Agency for a start. And who figures at the top of that Agency? Well, that's a stroke of luck - it's Vanda Murray. Vanda happens to be at the top of Carillion PLC who have already made for Carillion/Mowlem & Associates £9,571,379 for a load of flawed paperwork issued to the Public Inquiry.Now back to the North West Development Agency and their declared "Key Objectives" for the region:(a) Improve journey time reliability and tackle congestion (except on the M67/M60 as yet) on "the Regions Principal North-South-and East West Transport Corridors" (perhaps call it the M62 Mk2 Longendal... More About: Puzzle
The Longdendale jigsaw puzzle
2008-01-23 23:24:00 The Bypass Jigsaw is looking quite interesting, as the pieces and associations click together.Here we have Carillion PLC - preparation costs for the Public Inquiry - £4,944,274Now Carillion PLC bought Mowlem PLC (a previous contractor for the bypass) and their preparation costs for the PI are £4,577,105 - give or take a few pence.But hang on, who supports the Bypass? Well, the North West Development Agency for a start. And who figures at the top of that Agency? Well, that's a stroke of luck - it's Vanda Murray. Vanda happens to be at the top of Carillion PLC who have already made for Carillion/Mowlem & Associates £9,571,379 for a load of flawed paperwork issued to the Public Inquiry.Now back to the North West Development Agency and their declared "Key Objectives" for the region:(a) Improve journey time reliability and tackle congestion (except on the M67/M60 as yet) on "the Regions Principal North-South-and East West Transport Corridors" (perhaps call it the M62 Mk2 Longendal... More About: Puzzle
Roy Oldham's money shot
2008-01-22 21:31:00 Trench warfare continues. Roy Oldham is clearly worried that he'll be pushing up daisies by the time work starts on the bypass.So today, he has launched an offensive in the Manchester Evening News with the publication of this article.If you don't want to read this crap, the gist of it is that the delays in the Public Inquiry (PI) are 'holding back business' (heaven forfend!).In a world where the most important of all considerations is economic, the mask has slipped for Oldham: he loves money, as do his cronies. Those who live in the area - and who don't easily have the wool pulled over their eyes - are experiencing the 'economic prosperity' this bypass will bring, but not in an economic way. Go to Tintwistle and look across to Hadfield - straight at those awful grey sheds - Rossington Park and Bridge Mills. Go into Glossop and take a look at all the 'same as everywhere else' chain stores. The economic prosperity they bring (and who they bring it to) is debateable - what is... More About: Money , Shot
Roy Oldham's money shot
2008-01-22 21:31:00 Trench warfare continues. Roy Oldham is clearly worried that he'll be pushing up daisies by the time work starts on the bypass.So today, he has launched an offensive in the Manchester Evening News with the publication of this article.If you don't want to read this crap, the gist of it is that the delays in the Public Inquiry (PI) are 'holding back business' (heaven forfend!).In a world where the most important of all considerations is economic, the mask has slipped for Oldham: he loves money, as do his cronies. Those who live in the area - and who don't easily have the wool pulled over their eyes - are experiencing the 'economic prosperity' this bypass will bring, but not in an economic way. Go to Tintwistle and look across to Hadfield - straight at those awful grey sheds - Rossington Park and Bridge Mills. Go into Glossop and take a look at all the 'same as everywhere else' chain stores. The economic prosperity they bring (and who they bring it to) is debateable - what is... More About: Money , Shot
Here are the results of the Longdendale Siege Committee...
2008-01-20 01:01:00 Older readers will remember the many japes we've had teasing the Longdendale Siege Committee about their pathetic pm.gov.uk petition. Over the months, they've gone to all sorts of lengths to get signatures on it - their friend David Jones at the Glossop Chronicle even did his best to make sure everyone knew about it.So what's the status of the petition? Well, it's now closed. And - wait for it - it has the fantastically convincing number of - oh, 198 signatures...Time to rehash the bullshit about their 9,000 manual signature petition then. I suppose this is the last we'll hear from them about the electronic petition - though not if we've got anything to do with it. More About: Results
Here are the results of the Longdendale Siege Committee...
2008-01-20 01:01:00 Older readers will remember the many japes we've had teasing the Longdendale Siege Committee about their pathetic pm.gov.uk petition. Over the months, they've gone to all sorts of lengths to get signatures on it - their friend David Jones at the Glossop Chronicle even did his best to make sure everyone knew about it.So what's the status of the petition? Well, it's now closed. And - wait for it - it has the fantastically convincing number of - oh, 198 signatures...Time to rehash the bullshit about their 9,000 manual signature petition then. I suppose this is the last we'll hear from them about the electronic petition - though not if we've got anything to do with it. More About: Results
Ivan Bell's right of reply
2008-01-20 00:30:00 Hawk-eyed readers may have noticed that we had some comments from one of our subjects of ridicule over the past 12 months. Yes, Ivan Bell seems to have discovered this blog on New Year's day, and set about leaving comments on this post about SCC, and also on our 2007 round-up post.On the SCC post, Bell is charitable enough to afford the (now quiet) protestors over Rossington Park some degree of success. He thinks that if they had not been active, even more sheds would now be present. And let's face it, he should know being a Councillor. We will discuss more about High Peak Borough Council's continuing environmental onslaught on this part of the High Peak in future posts, but for now, we'll agree with that statement.The other comment is a mix of compliments, insults and absurd statements. The compliments are aimed at us for our 'interesting' views. Clearly, Bell didn't read our posts about him earlier in the year. The insult is where he says we should stand for election: if he...
Ivan Bell's right of reply
2008-01-20 00:30:00 Hawk-eyed readers may have noticed that we had some comments from one of our subjects of ridicule over the past 12 months. Yes, Ivan Bell seems to have discovered this blog on New Year's day, and set about leaving comments on this post about SCC, and also on our 2007 round-up post.On the SCC post, Bell is charitable enough to afford the (now quiet) protestors over Rossington Park some degree of success. He thinks that if they had not been active, even more sheds would now be present. And let's face it, he should know being a Councillor. We will discuss more about High Peak Borough Council's continuing environmental onslaught on this part of the High Peak in future posts, but for now, we'll agree with that statement.The other comment is a mix of compliments, insults and absurd statements. The compliments are aimed at us for our 'interesting' views. Clearly, Bell didn't read our posts about him earlier in the year. The insult is where he says we should stand for election: if he...
The case of the £13.7 million and the Freedom of Information request...
2008-01-18 21:15:00 Part two of the post we promised over a week ago now follows (part one is here).Anyone who has followed the Public Inquiry (PI) will know that one individual has been as tenacious as a terrier in his fight to uncover all of the sleaze, lies and obfuscation surrounding the bypass. John Hall gave us the lowdown on his attempts to get the figures from the Highways Agency in his own words:1. I forwarded a FOI (Freedom of Information ) request to the DfT (Department for Transport) on 7th November 2007.2. After 10 days it was referred to the HA (Highways Agency) Manchester.3. The HA tried to put me off by stating my request would cost too much and take up too much important time for them and asked me doctor my FOI to reduce its content.4. I played their game and stipulated I wanted ALL communications between the DfT and HA between February 2007 and October 2007.5. I received a response from the HA dated 21st December with the breakdown of the costs of the preparation and promotion of the P... More About: Request , Case , Freedom of Information
The case of the £13.7 million and the Freedom of Information request...
2008-01-18 21:15:00 Part two of the post we promised over a week ago now follows (part one is here).Anyone who has followed the Public Inquiry (PI) will know that one individual has been as tenacious as a terrier in his fight to uncover all of the sleaze, lies and obfuscation surrounding the bypass. John Hall gave us the lowdown on his attempts to get the figures from the Highways Agency in his own words:1. I forwarded a FOI (Freedom of Information ) request to the DfT (Department for Transport) on 7th November 2007.2. After 10 days it was referred to the HA (Highways Agency) Manchester.3. The HA tried to put me off by stating my request would cost too much and take up too much important time for them and asked me doctor my FOI to reduce its content.4. I played their game and stipulated I wanted ALL communications between the DfT and HA between February 2007 and October 2007.5. I received a response from the HA dated 21st December with the breakdown of the costs of the preparation and promotion of the P... More About: Request , Case , Freedom of Information
Channel M on the £13 million: Wot no Mike Flynn?
2008-01-11 18:48:00 Channel M have another of their reports on the bypass. They've found Tintwistle this time, rather than Brookfield in Glossop. But it's strange they haven't talked to Mike Flynn , and there's no statements from him. Is he camera shy? or are they a bit fed up of the usual soundbites he provides? Come on Mike, send us an email, let us know. More About: Channel , Million
Channel M on the £13 million: Wot no Mike Flynn?
2008-01-11 18:48:00 Channel M have another of their reports on the bypass. They've found Tintwistle this time, rather than Brookfield in Glossop. But it's strange they haven't talked to Mike Flynn , and there's no statements from him. Is he camera shy? or are they a bit fed up of the usual soundbites he provides? Come on Mike, send us an email, let us know. More About: Channel , Million
The bypass is costing £660,000 per month, and counting...
2008-01-10 21:25:00 Well, we've been pipped to the post with this one. After scanning the Highways Agency website, as well as the Public Inquiry website, we became aware of some Freedom of Information releases which talked about an increase in costs. But there are so many things to write about at the moment, that we put it on hold for another night.So the MEN have the scoop for a change. Today's big news is the massively escalating costs of the bypass.Quoting the £13,782,505.24* figure is one thing, but there are other ways of looking at numbers. The Freedom of Info releases are here, here and here (all open PDFs), but for those who would like us to extrapolate, here is the info they provided:The figures show the differing amounts paid to those involved on working on the bypass, for specific time periods. I have added the time periods in months. When you produce an average of those periods to produce monthly figures, this is what you get:August 2004-January 2006 - £408,861.43 per monthFebruary 2006-... More About: Counting , Month , Mont
The bypass is costing £660,000 per month, and counting...
2008-01-10 21:25:00 Well, we've been pipped to the post with this one. After scanning the Highways Agency website, as well as the Public Inquiry website, we became aware of some Freedom of Information releases which talked about an increase in costs. But there are so many things to write about at the moment, that we put it on hold for another night.So the MEN have the scoop for a change. Today's big news is the massively escalating costs of the bypass.Quoting the £13,782,505.24* figure is one thing, but there are other ways of looking at numbers. The Freedom of Info releases are here, here and here (all open PDFs), but for those who would like us to extrapolate, here is the info they provided:The figures show the differing amounts paid to those involved on working on the bypass, for specific time periods. I have added the time periods in months. When you produce an average of those periods to produce monthly figures, this is what you get:August 2004-January 2006 - £408,861.43 per monthFebruary 2006-... More About: Counting , Month
Levitt's 2008 predictions
2008-01-07 17:56:00 In his column in last week's Glossop Chronicle (actually a regurgitation of his own New Year press release), Tom Levitt makes an astonishing prediction:"We will find out the result of the Tintwistle Mottram bypass enquiry in 2008 and I am confident that, despite hiccups, the result will be in its favour"One wonders how Levitt has arrived at this conclusion: looking back to the last sitting of the Public Inquiry (PI) on December 18th last year, The Highways Agency (HA) could only give a vague commitment about when they would be ready to tell the PI when they would be ready!If one imagines this is going to be 'after Easter 2008', then that would mean after 23rd March. So if we're being optimistic, it may be possible that the HA would be able to tell John Watson they would be ready by May this year - the first anniversary of the commencement of the PI.Of course, all of their information may then have to be republished, and it's possible that another consultation period will then f... More About: Predictions
Levitt's 2008 predictions
More articles from this author:2008-01-07 17:56:00 In his column in last week's Glossop Chronicle (actually a regurgitation of his own New Year press release), Tom Levitt makes an astonishing prediction:"We will find out the result of the Tintwistle Mottram bypass enquiry in 2008 and I am confident that, despite hiccups, the result will be in its favour"One wonders how Levitt has arrived at this conclusion: looking back to the last sitting of the Public Inquiry (PI) on December 18th last year, The Highways Agency (HA) could only give a vague commitment about when they would be ready to tell the PI when they would be ready!If one imagines this is going to be 'after Easter 2008', then that would mean after 23rd March. So if we're being optimistic, it may be possible that the HA would be able to tell John Watson they would be ready by May this year - the first anniversary of the commencement of the PI.Of course, all of their information may then have to be republished, and it's possible that another consultation period will then f... More About: Predictions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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