Leaflet campaign to try and stop Shrewsbury North West Relief Road
Thousands of leaflets will land on the doormats of Shrewsbury households this coming week as campaigners against the North West Relief Road call for residents to object to its planning application.
Better Shrewsbury Transport (BeST) is sending out leaflets arguing that the road will not relieve congestion in Shrewsbury and will have a devastating effect on Shropshire countryside and the council’s climate emergency pledge to reduce carbon emissions.
Spokeswoman Claire Kirby said: "We’re sending out these leaflets because we want everyone in Shrewsbury to make their voices heard. When we read the council’s planning application, we were gobsmacked.
"The council has had over thirty years to come up with a solution to Shrewsbury’s traffic congestion and they’ve totally botched it. The North West 'Relief' Road will not solve Shrewsbury’s traffic problems at all.
"The planning application is clear that the road will actually make congestion worse in many parts of town. Calling it a “relief” road is inappropriate and misleading."
The campaign leaflet calls on Shrewsbury residents to object to the current planning application for the road and argues that the money would be better spent on local services such as public transport and cycling, as well as repairing potholes on the county’s existing roads.
Ms Kirby added: "New roads create more traffic, and the North West Road is no exception. Shropshire Council wants to use the road to unlock greenfield land for housing developments to the north of the town.
This would put even more cars on Shrewsbury’s roads and make the current congestion problems even worse. If we want to solve the town’s chronic traffic problems, we need to invest in better public transport and proper cycling routes to reduce the number of journeys that need to be made by car.
"This road isn’t just a Shrewsbury issue. If you live in Shropshire, it affects you too. It will bring huge risks for Shropshire council taxpayers, destroy our county’s beautiful countryside, threaten our drinking water supply, increase flooding, and create more – not less – traffic. Building it would create 70,000 tons of carbon to 'save' 350 tonnes per year! It goes completely against Shropshire Council’s climate emergency pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Shropshire Council leader Peter Nutting believes the road will "help greatly to reduce the through traffic through town and will reduce the congestion on Smithfield Road," and will offer "huge improvements" for many villages to the north and west of Shrewsbury.
To view and comment on the application visit bit.ly/3bWYQR3.
