Labour councillor says 'out of control' North West Relief Road 'simply cannot be afforded' and must be paused

The leader of Shropshire Council's Labour group, Councillor Rosemary Dartnall, has called for the authority's flagship roads project to be put on hold.

Her calls come after more turbulent developments in the saga of the controversial road.

The last week has seen auditors raising a host of concerns over how the council has handled the project - specifically over how it will pay for the road, with projected costs having ballooned from £81m to £178m.

They said the council is currently £91m short of the funds needed for the scheme and is relying on government money to fill the gap.

It has also emerged that the estimated carbon cost of the project has seen a huge increase, with costs to mitigate the situation rising from £1.4m to £8.4m.

Councillor Dartnall said the developments should force the council to reconsider its position over the road - and put it on hold.

She said: "The council’s external auditors warned the North West Relief Road (NWRR) project presents high risk to the council.

"If this were not enough, yesterday a shocking new report added to the planning portal, reveals a dramatic increase in CO₂ emissions associated with the scheme.

"Previously, mitigating for the road’s carbon emissions was to happen by 2030 but now Shropshire Conservatives propose a 20-year extension to 2050.

"The cost of mitigating the extra carbon has increased by £7m - from £1.4m to £8.4m, casually notified via a planning report.

 "Aside from the environmental cost the proposed new road simply cannot be afforded - the project is out of control, governed outside ideal standards of democracy and transparency.

"The NWRR should be paused immediately.”