Roads are going nowhere

Greater Manchester’s transport chiefs are to tell Rochdale: “We don’t want your roads.”

The new Local Transport Act gives Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (ITA)— the new name for the passenger transport authority (GMPTA) — powers to take over control of highways from the district authorities.

But while Rochdale council's acting leader Councillor Irene Davidson and the nine other leaders are still thinking about the handover, the ITA has already decided that they can keep the roads.

Chairman Councillor Matt Colledge said: “That is not an area where we want to go. I do not think there is a clear desire from the districts to hand the power over.

“And even if there was, would we really want to go out gritting the 10 districts’ roads at this time of year?”

The idea of the new powers is for ITAs to be able to create bus lanes and other priority schemes for public transport across council boundaries.

At the moment, there is a voluntary arrangement but the leaders will discuss a handover at a meeting of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities next month.

The body’s deputy chairman, Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese, said: “We have got to decide if we would be happy if the highways powers we currently hold are taken over by an integrated transport authority.”