Shropshire's Labour leader hits out at Shrewsbury MP over North West Relief Road demand
Shrewsbury's MP as come under fire for suggesting planning laws should be reformed over delays to proposals for the controversial North West Relief Road.
Councillor Julia Buckley, the leader of Shropshire Council's Labour Group, has responded to suggestions from Shrewsbury & Atcham's Conservative MP, Daniel Kawczysnski, that the planning process is "not fit for purpose".
The Tory MP had been referencing repeated delays to efforts to build the relief road – a route that would effectively complete the ring-road around Shrewsbury.
Funding for the project was secured around four years ago, but planning approval has yet to be granted, meaning the £81 million planned for the scheme will no longer cover its costs.
The project has attracted more than 4,700 objections – including calls from a number of town councils - Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, Oswestry, and Ludlow - for it to be dropped.
The project had been due to go before a planning committee at the end of 2021 but concerns raised by the Environment Agency and Natural England mean that even now it is only likely to be considered this spring at the earliest.
It is understood that the costs of the project have risen by at least £27m – the amount of extra funding Mr Kawczynski requested from the Government late last year.
Councillor Buckley has said that the money for the road could be better spent elsewhere – adding it was "disturbing" to suggest abandoning due diligence from the planning process.
She said: "As Mr Kawczynski must be aware, the Environment Agency is one of several statutory consultees for planning matters. Central government defines these as 'those organisations and bodies, defined by statute, which local planning authorities are legally required to consult before reaching a decision on relevant planning applications'.
"As the specialist organisation to best understand the environmental impact of such a strategic planning application, the Environment Agency are required to conduct their due diligence, however long it takes for them to be satisfied of the detailed analysis and data-led investigations of the scheme’s impact.
"The same is true of Shropshire Council’s planning department. Given the scale of objections – over 4,000 at the last count – it is of course vital that the planning officers have thoroughly examined all the issues raised within the framework of the National Planning Policy Framework to be legally compliant in their regulatory role.
"It is rather disturbing to hear our MP dismissing the entire governmental planning process simply because his favourite vanity project is required to meet due diligence requirements.
"As leader, on behalf of Shropshire Labour, there are many concerns we have been raising about the road for some time now. Indeed in our current alternative budget proposals for Shropshire Council, we make the case that taxpayers' money could be better spent for more impact in Shrewsbury and further afield."
Councillor Buckley also called outright for the project to be abandoned.
She said: "Although he doesn’t specify in his press statement, he has previously sought in the region of £27m additional investment – money that will come from our taxpayers – whether nationally or locally. Shropshire Labour agree that the additional inflation on construction projects does bring into question the viability of this project, as additional fees continue to accumulate. I could not agree more with Daniel’s statement, that the rising costs are now jeopardising the project’s sustainability.
"As Shropshire Labour set out in our alternative budget this month, it is time for the North West Relief Road to be cancelled once and for all, and the original £87m plus additional £27m be spent on the public services so desperately needed in Shrewsbury, such as in our NHS services, public transport, homelessness provision and decent wages for social care workers supporting the most vulnerable in our community."
Referencing the delays to the project, Mr Kawczynski had said: "I’m very proud to have secured £56 million and now four years on we are still not at the stage where the road has planning permission. We can’t run a society like that.
“How much more will the road cost now? It is unsustainable.
“I will be taking lessons from this whole process and will challenge it in a parliamentary debate. It is not fit for purpose. We have to take power away from the handful of people that use the environment to cause delay.”
