Tameside Council has announced a new consultation for improvements to the A560 that include wider footpaths, resurfaced roads and footpaths, improved pedestrian crossings, safer junctions, better bus stops, and new separated cycle lanes. The consultation opens on Monday 17 August 2026 and closes on Friday 18 September 2026.
The stretch of the A560 subject to the proposed improvements runs between Hattersley Roundabout and Green Lane, Gee Cross. The council states that the change would benefit all road users with access to local shops, services and the recently upgraded railway station.
The status quo of the A560 is very poor – it’s often a vastly wide sea of tarmac with bits of tokenistic painted/unprotected cycle lanes. Footways sometimes stop abruptly or lead to stepped sections, making continuous access impossible for walking and wheeling. Active travel uptake along route also suffers from illegal on-street parking, particularly between Clough End Lane and the railway viaduct. This has an impact on safety of the existing footways and blocks the existing painted/unprotected cycle lanes.
Given this, the proposals mark a welcome change from the political situation of this scheme as little as two years ago – a positive change that is thanks in no small part to the hard work of Walk Ride Tameside group volunteers to help shift the dial in the borough. If we remember back to July 2024, the Executive Cabinet minutes had the brass neck to defy the content of the Strategic Outline Business Case – along with regional Transport Plan ambitions and the Streets for All Design Guide – by recommending “that the Council will not approve any segregated cycle lanes within the scheme.”
So it makes this a hugely important consultation and it’s our opportunity to give this improved Tameside ambition more momentum by speaking up in favour of the proposals. Make no mistake: there will be the usual vocal minority rallying against the improvements and they won’t hesitate to try to stir up a fuss to try to spook councillors into pulling the scheme – particularly with opposition already mobilised against the proposed Godley Green Garden Village located nearby. Naturally, better active travel infrastructure is exactly what will help to make that development viable in transport planning terms.
Are the A560 proposals perfect? No. But are they a vast improvement on the status quo, and do they keep Tameside moving in the right direction? Definitely, yes. There’s even a Cyclops (Cycle-optimised signalised) junction proposed, which is more than several other Greater Manchester boroughs have the political will or modern officer training to muster.
Next steps and how to learn more
If funding is approved, work is expected to begin in summer 2027 and would take around 12 months to complete.
If you’d like to find out more and speak to the project team, you can attend one of our drop-in events during the consultation period.
The Hub, Hattersley
Small Hall, The Hub
Stockport Road, Hattersley, SK14 6NT
Monday 24 August 2026
1pm to 3.45pm
Active Ken Ward
Hattersley Road East, SK14 3NL
Wednesday 2 September 2026
5pm to 8pm
Active Ken Ward
Hattersley Road East, SK14 3NL
Saturday 12 September 2026
10am to 2pm
How to have a say
Ensure that officers and local members can see the suppressed demand for travelling sustainably in Tameside by speaking up in favour of the A560 scheme once the consultation goes live on the council’s website from Monday 17 August 2026.
And make a note of Friday 18 September 2026 as your last chance to have a say on the plans. Our recommendations is to express strong support to help move this scheme onto the next funding stage.