£7.6m funding secured to upgrade one of Britain’s most dangerous roads
- Safer Highways
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Snake Pass, the well-known Peak District route linking Manchester and Sheffield, is set for a £7.6m upgrade aimed at improving safety and resilience.
The road, alongside Woodhead Pass, is one of only two direct routes between the cities but is often shut during the winter months due to severe weather. The challenging conditions mean it requires frequent and costly repairs, and when open, it is regularly described as one of the UK’s most dangerous roads.
The funding boost was announced by East Midlands mayor Claire Ward at the launch of the new ‘Peaks Partnership’ in Buxton on Tuesday (August 19).
“We’ve made some progress with the government agreeing to provide an additional £7.6 million to support the work around Snake Pass, which is that great connection between the two cities and Manchester and Sheffield,” said Ms Ward.“What we are doing is showing an organisational commitment to working together, recognising the economic benefits that will come from doing so.”The Peaks Partnership brings together Ms Ward with South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to look at ways of enhancing transport links across the area.Mr Burnham said he ‘very much values’ Peak District residents’ contribution ‘to the Greater Manchester economy and public services in Greater Manchester’.“We owe it to them to make their travel to work better,” he added.
Future plans for the region include the extension of the Bee Network, with trains expected to run to Glossop next year and Buxton in 2026.
Discussions about closer integration between High Peak in Derbyshire and Greater Manchester have been ongoing. Local MP Jon Pearce previously floated the idea of merging High Peak with Tameside or Stockport under Mr Burnham’s mayoral authority.
However, Mr Pearce has since rowed back on the suggestion.
“If I’m honest, this Peaks Partnership is the best possible outcome that we could have had,” he told journalists. “Having those conversations about where we access services, about where our travel-to-work areas are, about the role we can play in growth in the north in terms of connecting two core cities of Sheffield and Manchester… was what I was talking about.”He added that he ‘absolutely did not’ regret raising the debate: “Unless you rattle a few cages, you don’t get any response.”