Councillors urge Shropshire Council to use new money to fix roads

Councillors in the Southwest of the County have called on Shropshire Council to put local roads and residents first and vanity projects second when it comes to any additional money coming from Central Government.

Heather Kidd, Shropshire Council for Chirbury and Worthen said: “We hear that Shropshire is due millions of pounds over the next 7 years courtesy of the cancellation of most of HS2. It is critical that this money is spent improving the transport needs, especially roads over ALL of Shropshire instead of servicing unwanted projects.

“In my Division alone I have five landslips, restricting traffic on two major roads (A488 and A490). One celebrated its fourth birthday recently and still no timetable for its repair.

“In addition to this several stretches of road are almost impassible above Binweston, the Little Weston Road, Lower Lane and the road from Brockton to Rowley to name a few."

Nigel Hartin of Clun Division has had similar problems: “I have one road which is in a dreadful state which a family with a disabled daughter have to use. Even though every journey causes this person pain and discomfort I have been told by a Council Officer that they have not the resources to fix this road.

“Elsewhere not only do I have a myriad of potholes that still need addressing but we also have the shambles over Clun Town Centre where Shropshire Council resurfaced the road without addressing the drainage problem beneath first.”

Ruth Houghton, Councillor for the Bishops Castle Division, concluded: “The purpose of a Council is to deliver services for its residents. Foremost, in rural areas like ours, is providing decent roads and bus services. We are now at a critical juncture with our road network where significant numbers of our roads are becoming impassable for ordinary cars and probably some emergency vehicles as well.

“In my area for example roads across the division from Norbury to Mainstone all need pothole repairs. Other roads such at Gatten and Banks Head, which is also a national cycle route, need significant investment to bring them up to a standard that is safe and useable for motorists and cyclists. We may be a rural and sparsely populated area but residents living and working here deserve better.

“We have been promised a significant sum of money over the seven years and there is a compelling case for addressing our roads network as a priority. This is especially true in the South West of the County where investment has been historically low. What we certainly don’t want is the suggested expenditure of £6.2m on consultants as suggested by Shropshire Council’s Administration plus £17m more on the relief road.”