Werneth Low is an area of outstanding natural beauty and a vital recreational space. Crucially, it serves as a critical biodiversity habitat that attracts rare wildlife species, including all five native species of owl, hawks, falcons, buzzards, skylarks, lapwings, snipe, curlew, toads, great-crested newts, stoats, bats, moles and badgers. However, in recent years there has been a noticeable decline in local wildlife due to ongoing environmental pressures. Because the Low lies directly at the intersection of the Stockport and Tameside councils' jurisdictions, it frequently falls into an administrative enforcement gap. Divided between two councils, this shared community asset requires coordinated action to reverse the ecological decline and manage increasing road safety, environmental, and antisocial behaviour concerns.

The Infrastructure and Road Safety Challenges:

The Low is accessed by five steep and winding country roads. These narrow lanes have become active commuter “rat runs”, serving as shortcuts for aggressive, speeding traffic trying to bypass main road congestion or use the Low as a shortcut. Pedestrians, dog walkers, horse riders, and cyclists face daily hazards because four of these rural routes are completely unlit and lack pavements, yet several roads still carry an inappropriate 60 mph speed limit.

Traffic volume and congestion will increase further once construction begins on Tameside Council’s approved 2,150-home Godley Green development, which is projected to bring thousands of additional commuter vehicles into the immediate area.

These traffic strains create ongoing friction with the local farming community, who must routinely use these narrow roads to move agricultural machinery and livestock. 

Furthermore, visibility is severely compromised on sharp bends along specific sections of these routes by overgrown boundary hedges that encroach on the lanes. In multiple areas, heavy weed and turf growth has completely covered the roadside kerbstones, obscuring the physical edge of the tarmac and causing drivers to lose control. Peak hour gridlock and parking in passing places also threaten to block vital access routes for emergency service vehicles.

Environmental and Night-time Concerns:

Many visitors to the Low bring picnics and fast-food takeaways to enjoy the panoramic views, but when they have finished, they leave their packaging and litter strewn across the Low’s historic fields and hedges. Furthermore, as darkness falls, the fact that the roads are unlit and isolated makes the car parks and lanes highly attractive for illegal drug dealing, substance abuse, and fly-tipping. This antisocial behaviour means that local residents, families and other visitors no longer feel comfortable using the area after sunset.

Our Request to Stockport Council, Tameside Council, and Greater Manchester Police:

We request that both local authorities formally collaborate, in alignment with Greater Manchester's Bee Network Active Travel Mission and Vision Zero safety framework, to implement the following measures:

• Traffic Management: Permanently reduce the speed limit on all 5 roads leading up to the Low to 20 mph, and designate them under a formal "Quiet Lane" framework to prioritise shared use.
• Highway Maintenance: Systematically clear overgrown turf from obscured kerbstones, enforce the cutting back of encroaching roadside vegetation on blind corners where visibility is restricted, and repaint faded "SLOW" tarmac safety markings.
• Corporate Accountability: Engage directly with major fast-food providers to establish corporate responsibility for their packaging, urging them to partner with councils on preventative litter-reduction messaging, localised drive-through collection strategies, and deterrent tracking frameworks.
• Litter bins: Install more litter bins (recycling) with fines for leaving litter.
• Enforcement: Install speed cameras alongside the proposed speed limit reductions, deploy CCTV at known anti-social hotspots to deter crime and fly-tipping. Introduce parking restrictions to ensure passing places are just that and ensure emergency access is always possible.

"Reclaim the Low is fantastic opportunity for us all to stand together to protect our precious wildlife, restore our natural habitats and safeguard the countryside we all value. Now is the time to speak up, get involved and take action. 

This is a chance  to make your voice heard and make changes to protect the Low for our communities and future generations – together, we can make a difference! "    Jayne Lawton Chair of Werneth Low Environment Group