'Shropshire Chainsaw Massacre': Campaigners insist relief road will be environmentally 'devastating'

More than 100 new documents were added to the planning application for the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road (NWRR) recently.

After combing through them, campaigners Better Shrewsbury Transport (BeST) says there is a 40% increase in the area affected by the road and more trees at risk.

Shropshire Council hopes the revised plans will satisfy the external stakeholders – including the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Woodland Trust, and Severn Trent Water – who previously raised major concerns about the project’s impact on the environment and Shrewsbury’s drinking water supply.

But BeST has hit back, saying that the new documents show the NWRR is now even more devastating for the environment than before, with additional new access roads, and the destruction of more trees and hedgerows.

Mike Streetly, spokesman for BeST said: "The new documents show that the council is secretly plotting 'The Shropshire Chainsaw Massacre'. Thousands of trees will be felled, many of them irreplaceable centuries-old oaks including the magnificent, 550-year-old Darwin Oak in Shelton Rough, and over 4km of vital hedgerows will be ripped out.

"The council have quietly increased the total area of land in the planning application by a whopping 40% and it is now planning to buy up farmland to offset impact from the proposed road at Hencott Pool, a Site of Special Scientific Interest – although no one has said how that will impact the road’s spiralling costs. It’s all very cloak and dagger."

Having examined the new plans, BeST says nothing has been done to placate the immense controversy that the road has generated. Over the past few years town councils including Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Oswestry, and Bridgnorth have refused to back to the scheme. Meanwhile, 4,800 public objections have been submitted to the planning portal.

Mr Streetly added: "Having looked at the new documents, it’s obvious that the NWRR remains a financial and environmental road to ruin. But instead of withdrawing the application or engaging with the objections, the council has chosen to ignore our concerns. The council administration is operating as a law unto itself, even contravening national planning policy – which says veteran trees that are 'wholly irreplaceable' and should only be impacted in 'wholly exceptional' circumstances.’ No amount of carbon offsetting or tree planting can replace what will be lost if this road goes ahead. Worse still, the last minute changes to the project mean the previous cost and carbon figures are now worthless."

A Shropshire Council spokeswoman said: “Any comments received as part of the re-consultation process of the current planning application will be fully considered during the determination of the proposed development.”

Public comments are open on the planning application until March 11.

To view and comment on the plans, visit bit.ly/3KuRCqm