On Sunday 5th February, over 40 people gathered on Lumb Lane, Hollingworth, to decorate the trees and hedges overlooking the line of the proposed A628 Mottram-Tintwistle bypass. Longdendale was, until recently, an historic farming community, where ancient customs survived and were respected.
The scheme proposed in 2004 comprises the construction of a 6km by-pass for the villages of Mottram, Hollingworth and Tintwistle, and modifications to the A628 and A616 corridor between Tintwistle and junctions 35a and 36 of the M1. The road building plans, as they stand at the moment, threaten the unique landscape around this area, more specifically the beautiful Longdendale valley, the nature reserve of Swallow's Woods, open moorland, and as some have argued, ultimately the whole of the northern Peak District by laying the groundwork a future major M1/M67 link road.
Protesters meet for Tree Dressing event | Road Alert: New Road Building Proposed for the Peak District
Campaigners make a start with the decoration