Peak District bypass may put Carillion in a bad light

Letter to the Editor 16 August 2006

Sir,

Regarding the inheritance of five Highways Agency ECI (early contractor involvement) roads projects by Carillion after its acquisition of Mowlem, Tony Gates (managing director of Carillion Roads) should not be so confident that the Mottram-Tintwistle bypass will be such a positive addition to the portfolio, as reported in your feature 'Open Gates' (CJ 26 July).

The A57/A628 Mottram to Tintwistle scheme, which runs through the Peak District National Park, is opposed by several groups.

These are: the National Park Authority, English Nature, Countryside Agency, Environment Agency, National Trust, several local authorities, the local Primary Care Trust and more than 1,400 local people who wrote in to object during the official consultation period.

The proposed road will draw traffic from the M62 onto the A628 through the National Park, lead to increased pollution and CO2, and relies on untested route-restraint measures as a deterrent to yet more traffic following suit.

This scheme is set to be a massive environmental battleground at all stages of development. Furthermore, funding for the scheme is now in doubt, as it has been moved from 2008/09 to 2015/2016 in the latest round of regional prioritisation.

In the 1990s, Carillion (then Tarmac) achieved notoriety for building the infamous road through Twyford Down. It seems that in 2006 it seems ready to add another dubious accolade to the company's CV this time, as the company that bulldozed a road through the Peak District National Park.

Emma Lawrence

Save Swallow's Wood Campaign