Groups ask for investigation into 'potential misallocation' of £4.2 million transport money in Shropshire
A coalition of local transport and environmental groups in Shrewsbury has written to the Deputy Prime Minister asking her to investigate “a potential misallocation” of £4.2 million of transport money in Shropshire.
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The funding via a Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) was pledged in 2015 for the Oxon Link Road (OLR) between the A5 and Holyhead Road.
The project was expected to be completed by November 2020, but later rolled into the North West Relief Road (NWRR) scheme, with the Department for Transport partly funding it.
However, it has been hit with various delays and opposition, with the Full Business Case now due to be considered by full council in the new year.
“This means that benefits that were to accrue from the £4.2m funding from the Marches LEP remain undelivered almost a decade since the funds were allocated and there is currently no credible timeline for when the OLR might be delivered,” said Mike Streetly, from Better Shrewsbury Transport (BeST).
Recently, an external audit raised serious concerns about Shropshire’s handling of the NWRR, revealing the road could now cost at least £178m, while new assessment figures show that the project's carbon footprint is likely to have at least doubled from the original forecast.
