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Government Turns Its Back on Snake Pass - Leaving Derbyshire to Face a Multi-Million Pound Crisis Alone

Three regional mayors say the route is "nationally critical" - but the Department for Transport says it's a local problem.

A plea for the Government to fund and manage hundreds of millions of pounds of repairs to the landslip-hit Snake Pass has been all but rejected, leaving Derbyshire County Council and the East Midlands Combined County Authority to face the crisis with resources that officials openly admit are nowhere near sufficient.

The Snake Pass - the A57, one of the UK's highest roads - runs 23 miles across the Pennines between Manchester and Sheffield, cutting through the heart of the Peak District. It is used by more than 30,000 vehicles every week. But the route is in a constant state of geological distress, with four significant landslips on the road and one - known as the Alport landslip - said to require hundreds of millions of pounds to repair properly.

The Scale of the Problem

Officials have been clear for some time that stop-gap repairs are all that can be managed within existing budgets. Interventions are now needed every six to twelve months, compared to a previous typical gap of eight years, as increasingly heavy rainfall driven by climate change accelerates the slipping. Officials have warned that a "cataclysmic" landslip - one that would effectively close the route permanently - can never be ruled out.

Derbyshire is home to 200 landslips in total, and the county council has seen its highways maintenance budget increase to £37 million, with capital funding reaching £70 million through EMCCA. But officials have been unambiguous: this spending falls far short of what Snake Pass alone requires, and any attempt to fund it from existing budgets would come at the expense of every other road in the county.

Three Mayors, One Message

East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward has been working with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard on a joint approach to the Government. All three are agreed that responsibility for the route should not fall on Derbyshire County Council alone.

Mayor Ward said: "It is a nationally strategic piece of infrastructure, and it shouldn't be left to Derbyshire County Council alone to fund that, precisely because it is not just for my residents in the High Peak but also for residents in Sheffield and Manchester too. It is not right to leave this critical piece of infrastructure for three regions dependent on one county council."

The Government's Response

The Department for Transport's response has been to point to existing funding streams. A DfT spokesperson said: "While it is for Derbyshire County Council to maintain this iconic road, last year we announced a new Structures Fund to help councils renew highways, bridges, flyovers and tunnels, and we will set out next steps in due course. We are already providing the East Midlands Combined County Authority with £2 billion in Transport for City Regions funding over the next six years."

Transport officials confirmed that responsibility for Snake Pass rests solely with the county council, and that it is for local authorities to maintain and improve their networks based on local knowledge and circumstances.

Between 2018 and 2023, there were five fatalities, 62 serious injuries, and 102 slight collision casualties on Snake Pass - figures that underline the human cost of the route's deteriorating condition. In July 2025, the Government did provide £7.6 million for safety improvements including average speed cameras, improved barriers, and better surfacing - but this falls far short of what is needed for the underlying geological repairs.

The three mayors are now preparing a formal business case to put to central Government, but with the DfT's position already clear, the prospect of a nationally funded solution appears remote.