Snake Pass, one of the key routes through the Peak District, could be closed for a month following several landslips.
Sections of the A57 – better known as Snake Pass – have been structurally damaged from the relentless storms last week.
It’s understood that there are three active landslips, with one verge dropping by as much as two metres.
The road, often named one of the best driving routes in the UK, will now be closed ‘for quite some time’.
Snake Pass connects Greater Manchester and Sheffield and passes some of the most popular countryside attractions in the country, including Ladybower Reservoir.
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The landslip at Snake Pass. Credit: Derbyshire City Council
It was closed on Monday 21 February in the wake of Storm Eunice and Storm Franklin and will remain closed for at least a month.
Teams haven’t yet been able to start work to repair the road as the ground is still moving.
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Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet member for Highways Assets and Transport, Councillor Kewal Singh Athwal, said: “I know this will be a huge inconvenience to everyone who uses the A57 regularly.
“However, with the ground underneath the road surface expected to continue to move, in the interests of everyone’s safety we simply cannot allow traffic to use the road.
“This is an evolving situation but please be assured we will continue to monitor the situation closely.
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“Once the land movement has stopped we will assess what needs doing to repair the sections of road. However, once in a position to do this it will be a complicated piece of work.
“I’d like to thank everyone for their patience as we deal with the aftermath of this unprecedented weather which has affected not only Derbyshire but much of the country.”
Local access will be maintained for residents and drivers are asked to follow the diversion route through Hathersage, Hope, Doveholes, Whaley Bridge, New Mills, Hayfield and Glossop and visa versa.
Snake Pass. Credit: Unsplash
There are calls for the route to be downgraded to a B road to lower the traffic along it, including HGV traffic.
High Peak MP Robert Largan posted: “As you may have seen, the Snake Pass (A57) has been closed for several days due to the storms over the weekend.
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“Having spoken to the highways authority, it is now clear that this closure will be for quite some time.
24-hour bus services are now running across all Greater Manchester boroughs
Emily Sergeant
24-hour bus services are now running across all boroughs in Greater Manchester.
You may remember that back in March, it was announced that every borough of Greater Manchester was set to get a night bus service in what is hoped to be a ‘boost’ to the night-time economy… and now it’s official, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has launched those 24-hour buses this month, along with a series of other measures.
Oldham, Stockport, Tameside, and Trafford now join the rest of Greater Manchester in having 24-hour bus services, meaning every part of the region will have a night bus operating Thursday through to Sunday.
It’s expected that these new services will help around 625,400 people working in the night-time economy across Greater Manchester, as well as those out enjoying the region’s nightlife, TfGM has said.
The routes which will run around the clock from Thursday until Sunday are:
50 (Salford – Manchester)
216 (Tameside – Manchester)
263 (Trafford – Manchester)
192 (Stockport – Manchester)
83 (Oldham – Manchester)
All Greater Manchester boroughs now have 24-hour bus services / Credit: TfGM
They launch alongside the most significant service changes to the Bee Network since the completion of bus franchising last year – including other new bus routes, and more frequent services across Greater Manchester.
“We want everyone to be able to enjoy everything Greater Manchester offers, without the worry of how to get there and get home,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor, Bev Craig.
“By growing the Bee Network, we’re making it easier than ever for people to use the bus, day and night.
“Our night buses are already providing a lifeline to some of the hundreds of thousands of people who are growing our night-time economy and working in essential public services.”
“Whether people are heading home from a night at the theatre or starting the early shift at a hospital, they can now get on board the night bus as a safe and affordable way to travel.”
Further improvements will delivered from January 2027, and a full breakdown by borough can be found on the Bee Network website here.
Featured Image – Aleksandr Popov (via Unsplash)
News
Police appeal after thieves steal 800 barrels of Guinness from HGVs in Cheshire
Emily Sergeant
Police in Cheshire are appealing for information after more than 800 barrels of Guinness were stolen.
Cheshire Police explained that, at around 7:45pm on Monday 31 August, a lorry entered an industrial estate in the Aston Lane area of Runcorn. The lorry is then connected to a HGV trailer containing barrels of Guinness, before leaving the site at 7:55pm and driving in the direction of the Mersey Gateway.
Then, at 9:12pm, a second lorry arrived at the same site in a different lorry and connected it to another trailer containing barrels of Guinness. The lorry left the site at around 9:30pm, in the direction of Rainhill and Watkinson Way.
The estimated total value of all the items stolen is approximately £205,000, police confirmed.
According to police, the trailers are described as white Tri-Axle Curtain side trailers with GXO company branding on curtains and rear doors.
The trailers also have unique ID numbers on their rear doors in the top left corner – with the numbers of stolen trucks being DL736 or DL542.
Both HGVs were believed to have been driven by men. The first man is described as white with a short dark beard and wearing a beanie hat, and the second believed to be wearing a cap.
Officers are now appealing to anyone with any information, or dashcam and video footage taken from around the time of the incident, to come forward.
“It is famously said that ‘Guinness is good for you’, but that is only the case when it has been bought and paid for,” commented Detective Sergeant McClatchy, from Cheshire Police.
“It is with this in mind that we have wasted no time in launching enquires to identify those responsible for the theft of £115,000 worth Guinness and the two trailers that housed the barrels.
Daisy Jackson -
23rd February 2022 
