Labour calls for cancellation of North West Relief Road in alternative Shropshire budget

The party launched a stinging attack on the Conservatives’ “repeated errors of judgement” in the two decades it has run the council and said it would invest “in people rather than property”.

Labour’s alternative budget comes after the publication of the Conservative administration’s proposals to cut £50 million from Shropshire Council’s budget for 2023-24 by slashing all “non-mandatory” services.

Councillor Julia Buckley, leader of Shropshire Labour Group, said, “We are appalled that Conservative councillors have made this heartless attack on our most vulnerable residents during the cost of living crisis, in order to bail out their spending mistakes on failed shopping centres and over-priced unwanted road building schemes.

“Conservative cuts plan to remove school transport for special needs children and for those children medically excluded from school; reduce care at home for the elderly; cut back supported living assistance for disabled adults; and not replace vacant posts at the council, adding more pressure on the already-beleaguered workforce.

“Once again, Conservatives in power are expecting the poorest in society to foot the bill for their mistakes in office.”

Councillor Buckley added: “Instead of wasting tens of millions of pounds investing in vanity capital projects that are speculative, commercial and unpopular with residents – such as the purchase of the Pride Hill shopping centre, which has already lost over £30m in value; and the North West Relief Road which attracted over 4,000 objections – we would focus on what councils should really be doing... investing in people.”

She said funding would instead focus on recruiting and retaining staff to help the most vulnerable, a council tax freeze for the most vulnerable, long-term investments in renewable energy, and “20 is plenty” speed restrictions to improve road safety in residential areas.

“We would offer a council tax freeze to all those residents currently in receipt of benefits and living in properties whose council tax is banded A or B," she added.

"So many families are struggling at the moment with the cost of living crisis, they cannot afford the additional 4.99 per cent council tax rise proposed by the Conservatives.

“We would also invest in longer-term projects that combat climate change, such as investing £2m to ensure 20mph zones in all residential, school and town centre areas across the county. This protects residents, promotes healthy lifestyles and will save the council road repairs budget.”

Other proposals include installing solar panels on high-use council buildings to reduce energy bills and setting up a new team to support retro-fitting buildings to help them become more energy efficient.

By Pete Carroll