Current plans withdrawn for Shrewsbury's Oxon Link Road
The controversial planning application for a new link road in Shrewsbury has been withdrawn.
Shropshire Council has withdrawn the proposal for the Oxon Link Road and will instead include the road within the forthcoming application for the North West Relief Road (NWRR).
Councillor Steve Davenport, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “Following the exciting announcement earlier this year that the Department for Transport (DfT) will provide funding for the (NWRR), Shropshire Council has been developing the scheme in readiness for a planning application in early 2020.
“As part of this work, the council has re-appraised the relationship between the NWRR and the Oxon Link Road which currently under consideration by the local planning authority. While the Oxon Link Road application has acknowledged the NWRR as a potential future scheme, DfT’s funding allocation offers an opportunity for the two complementary schemes to become more closely aligned.
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“By aligning the two schemes, the council is able to maximise the benefits of both schemes and create a consistent user experience from Churncote roundabout to Battlefield.”
The NWRR will provide a strategic link that eases congestion on the corridor between the Midlands and Wales, facilitating economic growth in Shrewsbury and Shropshire more widely.
On the other hand, the Oxon Link Road was conceived principally as a distributor road to facilitate development as part of the Shrewsbury West Urban Extension (SUE).
By combining the schemes, the authority says the Oxon Link Road can more easily contribute to the strategic objective of the NWRR, while also better delivering on the link road’s specific goal of facilitating the SUE.
A new combined planning application will be submitted in spring 2020.
