Government awards almost £1m for Shrewsbury North West Relief Road plan
Shropshire Council has welcomed the Government’s award of almost £1 million to develop an outline business case for the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road.
The funding bid was made by the council and endorsed by the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership.
The award was announced on Wednesday in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.
The Shrewsbury North West Relief Road would see a four-mile bypass, running from the Ellesmere Road Roundabout at Battlefield in the north of the town to the A5 at Churncote Island.
Many say the project, which was last looked at and shelved around six years ago, is long overdue.
Simon Jones, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transportation, said:
“This is great news and we’re delighted that the bid for funding for a North West Relief Road business case has been successful. One of just six successful bids nationally, this funding will allow Shropshire Council to undertake a full and comprehensive refresh of the evidence base, and then develop a business case for the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road.
“Though this award doesn’t give any automatic future endorsement of the NWRR at a national level, or any access to future construction funding at this stage, it is clearly a very positive development.”
The funding will allow the creation of a business case for the project, which is expected to presented to the Department for Transport in spring 2018.
