A county border on a road where people stop to admire the panoramic views could be a barrier to preventing antisocial behaviour.
Congleton Road, on Mow Cop, straddles the boundary of Cheshire East and Staffordshire and, as a result, both authorities are involved in the maintenance of the road or lay-bys.
Concerns about “boy racers” gathering there to use their vehicles on the stretch, as well as litter, has been a concern for number of years.
But after a quiet winter, the problem has re-emerged with the onset of good weather.
Biddulph town councillor Nigel Yates, who also sits on Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, said residents had contacted him about the ongoing issues, but he said the boundary “quirk” didn’t help.
Coun Yates told the “Chronicle”: “Those lay-bys have been there for generations and have been enjoyed by people for generations; they’ve got litter bins and somewhere to admire the view.
“But a quirk of it is, while Staffordshire County Council is responsible for the road, the lay-bys are the responsibility of Cheshire East Council. For instance, Cheshire East empties the litter bins there.”
He added: “It is awkward in the context that no council has got ownership of the whole issue.”
Describing the antisocial behaviour he said: “Over the course of the last two summers locals have been plagued by people coming from all over the place, usually because of posts on social media, to meet up, show off their cars and rev the engines.
“It’s compounded by the fact that Congleton Road is relatively straight and they blast up and down it.”
Coun Yates said there was “anecdotal evidence” that a public spaces protection order introduced last year by Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council had displaced problems from there to adjacent areas, like Mow Cop.
“It has been a difficult one to resolve, and over the years extra pull-ins have been created just by too many people going up there, parking up and wearing away the verge.
“There is a sad reluctance to close them permanently because they are such good amenity value. But somehow they’ve got to be managed, whether it’s by the police or the councils – it’s a difficult one.
“It’s not something that Staffordshire County or Staffordshire Moorlands can manage themselves if the lay-by is managed by another county.”
Coun Yates said it had been raised with the police and that it was causing a “justifiable degree of concern” for the residents and that police patrols should be going up there.
He suggested a more formal process to stop the antisocial behaviour could be introduced similar to a public spaces protection order.
“But then that could be difficult when you are protecting another council’s public space,” he said.
Sandstone rocks have been placed in one of the lay-bys to prevent vehicles from parking.
Antisocial behaviour at the lay-bys in Mow Cop was on the agenda of Biddulph Town Council’s Town and Community Committee meeting last Tuesday, at the request of Coun Yates.
He told the meeting he had spoken to the community team at Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, who would offer one-to-one support to the residents.
In its winter newsletter for 2025/26, Congleton Police said patrols had increased in the Congleton Road area after the Odd Rode community, on the Cheshire East side of Mow Cop, raised concerns about vehicle antisocial behaviour.
The newsletter said: “In particular, residents highlighted antisocial behaviour taking place in the local lay-bys. As a result of our deployments, several drivers have been summoned for drink/drug driving offences. Officers have also supported the local council in meetings, to plan how best to target harden these locations and reduce the incidents of such reports.”
