Campaign group welcomes 'revisions' to Shrewsbury relief road plan
A group campaigning against the North West Relief Road has welcomed the announcement that revisions are being made to the plans.
Better Shrewsbury Transport (BeST) has welcomed the news that Shropshire Council is making changes to the proposals for the £87 million Shrewsbury Road – partly due to environmental concerns, but said it still wants the project cancelled.
Shropshire Council's cabinet member for highways, Councillor Steve Charmley, has confirmed the changes, and said he expects an application detailing the revisions to be submitted in the next two weeks.
However, Mike Streetly from Better Shrewsbury Transport said they were still concerned about the financial implications of the project – as well as its effect on the environment.
The road is expected to cost around £87m – £54.4m from the Government, with Shropshire Council responsible for the remaining £19.8m – as well as any overspend.
Mr Streetly said: "We’re very pleased that Shropshire Council has finally recognised what we’ve been saying all along: this road is a financial and environmental disaster for Shropshire.
"The government grant from the Department for Transport is capped at £54m. Shropshire Council is welcome to go back to central government with its begging bowl, but it seems unlikely this will achieve anything other than further embarrassing the county.
"The spiralling costs for the road are clearly going to be paid for by Shropshire itself. Does the county really want to see millions spent on four miles of road for Shrewsbury instead of being shared across Shropshire?"
He added: "Given the planning issues and the fact that 4,500 objections have been received, it seems unlikely that the Department for Transport will want to pay any additional money towards the scheme."
Mr Streetly said the road goes against plans for the council to get to 'zero carbon' status.
He said: "Meanwhile, the carbon cost of the road remains incompatible with the recent IPCC report and the council and government’s stated aim to get to net zero.
"We are expecting Shropshire Council to return with massaged carbon figures attempting to offset the road’s carbon budget by tree planting and other ideas that are, frankly, little more than greenwashing.
"There is no way to build a project like this that is 'environmentally friendly'.
"We urge Shropshire Council to cancel this project and invest in alternative options to reduce Shrewsbury’s traffic issues following the example set by our neighbours in Hereford and Wales."
