Campaigners submit details of ‘chronic mismanagement’ to council ahead of NWRR review

Better Shrewsbury Transport (BeST) has submitted details of ‘chronic mismanagement’ of the North West Relief Road (NWRR) ahead of a council review into the project that begins this month.

BeST, which has been campaigning against the NWRR for many years using an evidence-based approach, is keen to ensure that the council doesn’t launch into another similar project in the future without learning the lessons of what went wrong.

Mike Streetly, a spokesperson for the group, says:

"Everyone in Shropshire can see that the North West Relief Road project suffered from chronic mismanagement. Whether you were pro or anti the road, it’s clear that the project was totally mishandled. It ballooned in cost from £84m in December 2017 to 215m by August 2024 – a 150% increase, even though the ONS infrastructure index for the same period only went up by 36%.

"Clearly something went very, very wrong. By the time the road was axed earlier this year, the council had wasted over £39m on it – money that Shropshire now has to repay over future decades via an expensive loan. Lessons need to be learned to ensure we don’t make this kind of mistake again.’

BeST has submitted an 8-page letter to the council, outlining the poor decision making by officers and councillors, and highlighting which areas should be investigated.

These include:

- The council’s failure to manage costs effectively

- The lack of proper oversight over the project and an unwillingness to be transparent with campaigners and external stakeholders

- The failure to properly assess Shrewsbury’s traffic issues, including congestion in Harlescott; on the A5 around Dobbies Island; and the Sundorne and Battlefield Islands on the A49.

- Conflicts of interest which saw a single person representing both the council and WSP, the council’s consultants on the project, in meetings

- The disastrous design decisions, such as the choice of route with regard to the Shelton drinking water supply, removal of the crawler lane on the viaduct; and the lack of active travel provision

- The dismissive treatment of external stakeholders – including the Environment Agency, Severn Trent Water, Marches LEP, and campaigners including BeST – which led one senior council officer to issue an apology for their behaviour.

Mike Streetly says: "We are glad the new administration has set up a Task & Finish Group to look into what went wrong, because learning from past mistakes is vital if we want to avoid another catastrophe like this. We hope that our suggestions are taken on board and we are assured that cross-party councillors on the group will work hard to ensure that something substantive comes out of the process.

"However, we are disappointed that there won’t be a full and proper investigation. No one will ever be forced to apologise or resign for the NWRR mess and those who were most responsible have either resigned or retired or left office. Where is the accountability? This whole episode is a stain on local democracy and has left the reputation of Shropshire Council in tatters."