Shrewsbury North West Relief Road

What is the relief road?

The North West Relief Road is a proposed single carriageway road which would run from the Churncote roundabout west of Shrewsbury where the A5 dual carriageway ends to the roundabout on the Ellesmere Road west of Battlefield.

Traffic between areas to the north and west of Shrewsbury has to pass through the town centre, shortcut through unsuitable roads west of the town or take the significantly longer route around the A5 / A49 bypass.

As a result there are unacceptably high levels of traffic, including heavy vehicles, on residential roads approaching the town centre and within the centre itself where there is only limited highway capacity. This leads to problems of congestion, delay and journey unreliability for road users and problems of noise, poor air quality and reduced accessibility. Public transport services are also affected by congestion.

For the past 20 years or so, the idea of building a Shrewsbury North West Relief Road (NWRR) has been considered as a possible solution to some of these transport problems. During this time, various possible routes have been looked at.

Current situation

In February 2009 the West Midlands Regional Assembly (WMRA) submitted a programme of its prioritised transport projects to the Department for Transport (DfT). That programme included construction of the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road starting in 2014.

The Government announced in July 2009 that it supports the West Midlands transport plans which include the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road.
The announcement has brought the scheme a significant step further, however it will now need to successfully complete the Department for Transport (DfT) funding processes. In order to do this, the council will need to submit a major scheme business case to the DfT.

Following the government’s decision in July 2009, the council at its Cabinet meeting on 18 November 2009 concluded that the preparation of the business case for the scheme should be completed and a public consultation held. A copy of the cabinet report and decision can be viewed and downloaded on this page.

Cabinet will receive a further report in July 2010 which will report on the consultations carried out and on the business case. Cabinet will at that time decide whether to submit the business case to DfT for funding. Subject to their approval the business case will be submitted in August 2010.

The earliest that work could start to build the road would be 2014 with a possible finish date of 2016.

Detailed assessment

The council made a commitment to review the North West Relief Road (NWRR) proposal during the first Local Transport Plan period 2001/02 - 2005/06. This review, which began with an initial public consultation in January 2003 looked at the benefits and impacts of a number of NWRR route options and of alternative solutions that do not involve construction of a new road.

Want to know more?

Please follow the links in the navigation bar to find out more about this road, it's history, the preferred route and how to get involved and have your say.

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