North West Relief Road to be discussed at scrutiny meeting

An update report on the proposed North West Relief Road for Shrewsbury is to be discussed at the Economy and Environment scrutiny meeting at Shirehall on Monday 28 July.

The report will update members on the scheme progress, the bid for Regional Allocation Funding and on the potential for combining the road with the Environment Agency's Flood Risk Management scheme.

The North West Relief Road is one of 38 projects that have been submitted and appraised in the Regional Allocation Funding. The appraisals are being reviewed and the Regional Transport Partnership is expected to reach a decision on the prioritisation process in October. The results of this will form advice to the Department for Transport, who will make the final decision potentially in March 2009.

The report also mentions a study carried out by the Environment Agency showing that there are clear benefits in combining the schemes to incorporate flood alleviation measures. The council will continue these discussions to identify potential partnership working in the future.

Alan Mosley, Shropshire County Council’s Chair of the economy and environment scrutiny panel, said: “This is a highly controversial project and, in the public interest, we are continuing to keep the development of the scheme under regular review.

“The council has resolved to proceed with bids for regional funding and this will be vital for the road plans to move on. If the road is built the combination with flood alleviation will bring great benefits to areas downstream which are liable to flooding",

25 July 2008