Councillors call for safe sections of A57 Snake Pass in Derbyshire to be reopened to cyclists and walkers

Derbyshire County Council announced this week that the notorious Peak District road would be closed in its entirety to all traffic, including pedestrians and cyclists, following landslides which have made parts of the road surface unstable.

In protest to this, a mass trespass has been organised on social media, with people planning to meet at Square West, Glossop, at 2pm tomorrow (March 12) and access the road – now three High Peak county councillors have joined the argument.

Councillors Damien Greenhalgh, Ruth George and Anne Clarke, who are not involved in the trespass, have written an open letter to Executive Director of Place Chris Henning, calling for the authority to rethink its decision to close the entire stretch.

The letter states: “We have been inundated with complaints about the full closure of the Snake Pass.

“This has prevented some local people from using their usual walking and cycle routes, as well as others who were enjoying the traffic-free scenic route on foot or bicycle.”

The councillors said that they ‘absolutely accepted’ the council’s technical advice that sections of the road were still moving and were therefore dangerous, adding that such areas should have barriers to prevent large groups of people ‘standing on dangerous sections’.

The letter continued: “However this will still leave many miles of road that can be used by cyclists and pedestrians and we urge the county council to reopen those sections to enable local people and visitors to enjoy this scenic and spectacular route, which they are usually prevented from accessing by dangers from traffic.”

The road can currently be accessed by residents and their visitors.

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “We are aware that there is a mass trespass planned for cyclists and walkers on the Snake Pass tomorrow.

“We have closed the A57 Snake Pass to all users, including cyclists and walkers, apart from those who live there or their visitors, because of significant concerns about safety following a serious landslip.

“We recognise the attraction of the road and we have not taken the decision to close to all users lightly.

“We welcome cyclists and walkers to Derbyshire but for now we ask that they do not use the Snake Pass and consider one of the many other beautiful places to visit in the county.

“Last weekend we experienced very large numbers of cyclists riding in groups on the road who were not expecting to see traffic and we were concerned that an accident could happen.

“There is still traffic on the road, as people live there and we have vehicles going up to monitor the landslip and carry out other work on other parts of the road.

“We’d ask anyone planning to go to the Snake Pass tomorrow, if they decide to ignore the road closed signs, to please take care as the road is still being driven on by those who live on it. We’d also remind them to please adhere to the highway code.”

Conservative member for Chapel and Hope Valley Nigel Gourlay added: “This letter from the three Labour councillors, published on social media, is an unwelcome intervention. Large groups have been visiting the road and standing on the part that has slipped. The landslip is still moving.”