Residents call for more time on Shrewsbury North West Relief Road consultation
Opponents of Shrewsbury's £71 million North West Relief Road have called for residents to be given more time to have their say in the wake of the coronavirus lock down.
Shropshire Council's public consultation on the scheme ends today.
But the coronavirus outbreak has led to the cancellation of a number of exhibitions where members of the public could have examined the plans and discussed them with representatives.
Resident Peter Miller called for the consultation deadline to be extended to the end of the year, so that people would be able to view the plans once the lock down period had ended.
Mr Miller, who lives in Bicton Heath, said the lock down restrictions also made it impossible for people to hold public meetings to discuss the proposals.
He added that many people were unable to attend the seven exhibitions which went ahead before the lock down as they were observing Government guidance on self-isolation for people displaying the symptoms, or advice on 'shielding' for vulnerable groups.
"Many members of the public were unable to attend the exhibitions, both before and after the exhibitions were abandoned," he said.
Mr Miller said while Shropshire Council had invited people to comment online, this excluded many people who did not have internet access or were not computer literate.
"There is no substitute for actually seeing and discussing the plans with consultants. This opportunity has been denied to a large number of people.
Shropshire Council spokesman Gareth Proffitt said all five of the consultation events where technical experts were able to discuss the scheme and answer questions from the public went ahead from March 10 to 14.
"In addition, two of the six further sessions where people could view the consultation material and submit questions via the engagement team also went ahead," he added.
Downturn
Mr Proffitt acknowledged that the Prime Minister's advice would have impacted on who stayed at home and when during the consultation period. He also said the council had offered to post the consultation material out to anyone who telephoned, and said a number of people had taken up this option.
Mr Miller said there was very limited support for the road, particularly given the financial downturn.
He accused the council of downplaying the threats the scheme posed to the environment and the water supply.
The road will connect the A5 at Welshpool Road roundabout in the west to the Ellesmere Road roundabout in the north, with new bridges over the River Severn and the Shrewsbury to Chester railway line.
Shropshire Council said it intended to submit an application for planning permission next month.
