Dual the A5 campaign: Oswestry businessman Shane fears for the safety of his brewery staff
A prominent Oswestry businessman says the A5 is so dangerous that he fears for the safety of his staff who are forced to use it on a daily basis.
Shane Parr, who founded Stonehouse Brewery in Oswestry 10 years ago, says the road network also hampers the economy of the area.
He has added his name to the Shropshire Star's call for the A5 to be included in the Government's Road Improvement Strategy and upgraded to a multi-lane dual carriageway from north of Shrewsbury to Chirk.
Click here to sign the petition to dual the A5
Mr Parr employs more than a dozen people at the company's base at Weston Lane on the edge of Oswestry.
They include delivery drivers who take the beer and cider brewed at Stonehouse to pubs and shops and other outlets up to 40 miles away.
"As an employee I feel responsible for the safety of the staff and I worry about the drivers who have to use the A5 daily," he said.
"One day they could be driving north along the A5 towards Wrexham and Chester, another day south to Shrewsbury and south Shropshire. Traffic comes off the dual carriageways at Shrewsbury and Wrexham and suddenly we have a bottleneck.
READ MORE: Full coverage of our 'Dual the A5' campaign
"Our vans can only travel at 50 miles an hour but very often they will be moving considerably slower and often be at a standstill. There are also the dangers of drivers who get frustrated sitting in slow moving traffic and overtake in the middle of the road."
As well as safety he said there were the economic drawbacks.
"Drivers can be late for their delivery times which has a knock-on effect for the businesses that sell our beers if they are waiting around for us to arrive."
