£150 million Shropshire masterplan to create 40,000 jobs

The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership has lodged a bid for £102 million of funding from a £2 billion Government pot, which it says it can match with £52 million raised locally.

The LEP has outlined a number of "shovel-ready" projects which it would fund with the cash. These include a £10 million transport package for Shrewsbury which would cover junction improvements and traffic management in the town centre.

There would also be £12 million for Shrewsbury's long-awaited Oxon Link Road linking the A5 to the B4380 Holyhead Road in the north west of the town, a scheme that would reduce traffic along Welshpool Road and also act as a leg of a possible future North West Relief Road.

Dobbies Roundabout, where the A5 crosses the A49 Ludlow road on the southern edge of town, would also be upgraded in a £5.5 million scheme.

Telford projects in the plan include work on interchanges at Trench Lock and Randlay, and the Clock Tower, Shawbirch, Ketley Brook and Limekiln Roundabouts.

It would also see £11 million invested in connections in the town centre, alleviating pressure on the Box Road around the shopping centre, while nine stalled housing developments, including 260 homes at Hadley Road and 165 homes at Orleton Lane in Wellington, would move ahead.

The LEP says it has earmarked a fund of £1.8 million to replace the bus station in Telford town centre.

It also hopes to use £5.2 million to improve Telford's links to the JLR site on the M54 at junction two.

LEP chairman Graham Wynn said: "We have set out our priorities for addressing areas of business need.

"These range from infrastructure including transport and broadband, education and skills investment, and access to small business finance."

The plan has been submitted to ministers and it is hoped it could create 40,000 jobs and see more than 70,000 homes built.

• See Thursday's Shropshire Star for further extensive coverage