A High Peak Labour Councillor is facing calls to resign after new documents have revealed she misled voters on the Mottram Bypass & Glossop Spur Road.
Labour Councillor Pauline Bell, who was elected to represent St John’s ward in May of this year, has been exposed after recent analysis to public submissions to the Development Consent Order public consultation on the badly needed new road.
During the tightly contested election in May, the then Labour Candidate took to social media on 2 May to claim that “residents have been misinformed and told that Labour opposes a Mottram Bypass. This is not the case.”
This statement, just days before the election, was reassuring to residents in St John’s ward, which includes Charlesworth and Gamesley, two of the areas worst affected by rat-running due to the traffic gridlock on Mottram Moor.
It proved decisive, as Ms Bell was elected by the narrowest of margins. Just 76 votes.
However, the Planning Inspectorate have published Councillor Bell’s official submission to the public consultation on the bypass.
In Councillor Bell’s submission, the now Labour Councillor claimed that the “Mottram Bypass makes no sense at all” and called it “a half-hearted measure”.
Councillor Bell’s formal submission opposed building the Mottram Bypass, saying “instead of building this bypass we should be looking at restricting HGVs on residential roads and encouraging vehicles to use the M62”.
The newly released documents also shows that Glossop Labour Party also submitted a formal objection to the bypass, claiming that the bypass “will do nothing to relieve the problems of traffic congestion and air pollution”.
Robert Largan, MP for High Peak, commented:
“Labour have let down the people that they claim to represent. At election time, they’ve told voters that they support the bypass while secretly submitting official objections to the new road when it really matters. They have been caught red-handed trying to block the bypass.
“If Councillor Bell has any decency, she’d resign. If High Peak Labour really support the bypass and care about honesty, they’d remove the whip from her.
“Despite these antics, we’re closer than we’ve ever been to getting the bypass built. I’ll let others play political games. I’ll focus on delivering for the High Peak!”
