Greens' alternative county budget includes abandoning relief road and increasing car park changes

It would also increase charges in two Shrewsbury car parks to help guarantee the future of bus services.

Building rental homes for families in need and launching a £150,000 fund to help children traumatised by domestic abuse are proposals that also appear in the alternative budget.

Leader of the Green Group, Councillor Duncan Kerr said: “Years of Government under-funding of local councils, combined with poor investments and intransigence by the leadership of Shropshire Council has left the council finances in a precarious state.

"However, even now it is still possible to make better choices which will give more help to those in need in Shropshire, boost our economy and reduce carbon emissions. "

"Our proposals include abandoning the expensive and out-dated North West Relief Road and investing in sustainable and public transport instead."

Councillor Kerr said Shropshire Council collected more rubbish from each household than every authority in the country bar one.

"Transporting all this waste uses a lot of costly and carbon intensive diesel fuel and the administration's dogmatic approach means we now have little option other than to charge for garden waste. Based on data from other authorities this could save £2 million a year.

"We will support this provided the proceeds are used to promote home composting and provide a network of free bus journeys between our major towns building on the free bus services already funded by Green-controlled Oswestry Town Council."

"The bus service in Shropshire has been decimated and more cuts are coming. At the same time Frankwell and Abbey Foregate car parks in Shrewsbury cost less to park in than some of the Shropshire Council-owned car parks in its smaller towns.

"We would re-band these car parks, generating at least £300,000, which would enable us to guarantee the future of the route 20 bus and many other routes as well."

"The budget will soon need to be approved by the Council but we hope that the Conservative leadership will now abandon short-termism and adopt our positive and effective proposals which are designed to bring lasting benefits to our communities in these difficult times."