Latest news with #NorthWestReliefRoad
BBC News
17 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Shrewsbury relief road work put on hold
All work on a proposed bypass has been paused to allow talks to take place with the Department for Transport (DfT) about its a change in leadership at Shropshire Council, the authority has been looking to scrap Shrewsbury's North West Relief Road, and a meeting was held with the DfT on council was told there would be no more funding for the project and that work would have to be stopped before further discussions could take council, which is now run by the Liberal Democrats, has said it would like to avoid paying back the money it has already received from the government. The scheme was originally put forward by the previous Conservative administration, with the aim of reducing congestion and pollution in the town was opposed by environmental groups and opposition parties because of the costs involved and the possible environmental impact of the work, with both suggesting the money would be better spent on other schemes to reduce cost of constructing the road was originally estimated at £ years later, the estimated cost stands at £215m, due to planning delays, significant increases in global construction costs, and concerns with the scheme's governance the meeting on Monday, DfT officers confirmed that they would not award any more money than had been originally allocated to the project. Furthermore, the Local Transport Fund of £136.4m, originally mooted by the previous administration to fund the scheme, has been replaced with a Local Transport Grant totalling only £ DfT said if work on the scheme was stopped, formal discussions could take place with Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood MP, the DfT and other parts of central government about the £39m it has already spent on the leader Heather Kidd said it was "made very clear that no more funding would be allocated to the scheme".With the possibility that costs could rise still further, she said: ""Borrowing that level of money is not a serious option given our financial position and the implications it would have for the rest of our budget and services."She said this created a £176m funding gap for the relief road and made it "simply unaffordable", so the council had no choice but to cancel that decision would still have to be made by full council. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Protests as council sets out case for relief road
A planned relief road would be a major economic boost to Shrewsbury, Shropshire Council has said. It has published a revised business case for the North West Relief Road, which estimates the scheme would cost £215m. Environmental campaigners held a protest before it was presented to a meeting at Shrewsbury's Guildhall on Thursday. Opposition parties announced earlier this month they would scrap the scheme if they take control of the authority after May's local elections. The draft Full Business Case updates a similar document published in November and sets out the possible benefits of the relief road. The council said it would reduce congestion in the town and shorten the average journey time across northern Shrewsbury by 17 minutes. It said this would also free up space on the roads for public transport and make it easier to walk and cycle. The council's business case estimated that for every £1 spent on the scheme, it would deliver economic benefits worth £3.88. It said this ranked the transport scheme among those categorised as being "high value in the country". The leader of the Conservative-run authority, Lezley Picton, said the draft document made a "very strong case to the UK government for support and investment". She also said the £38m of government money already spent on the plans would be wasted if it did not go ahead. But because local council elections are due to be held in May, there will be no chance for councillors to discuss the Full Business Case before the summer. Opposition councillors attending the meeting on Thursday said they were furious the document was published 35 minutes before it was due to be held. Some said they only discovered it had been published during the meeting. Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green groups have all said they want the scheme scrapped, claiming it is too expensive and will not solve traffic problems. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Plan to scrap bypass revealed ahead of election 'Significant weakness' in relief road funding 'Relief road will cut crashes in our village' No commitment to relief road funding in MP meeting Shropshire Council
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Doubt over pre-election relief road council debate
A key report into the feasibility of Shrewsbury's North West Relief Road (NWRR) is unlikely to be discussed by councillors until after May's local elections. There is uncertainty as to whether the full business case will be ready for a meeting of the full Shropshire Council at the end of the month. It had been understood that the multi-million pound project would be discussed at the meeting on 27 February. However, the officer now overseeing the scheme told the council's Audit Committee on Thursday that he was unable to say when it would be published. "There are a number of things linked to that – discharging planning conditions etc," said Andy Wilde, assistant director for infrastructure. He said: "I'm working with the team at the moment to understand what that timeline looks like. So I will need to update on that because I don't have a clear position at this moment in time." Councillor Roger Evans said the committee was previously told the FBC would be available in September, then December, before February was mooted. "We seem to be drifting while this council continues to spend money that it can ill-afford to lose," the Liberal Democrat councillor said. "This is a multi-million pound project, it has been stressed that it's at risk. The business case is still going to go to government, and they will come forward as to whether they're going to fund it or not. "But Shropshire Council is still spending millions on this case with no planning permission yet issued." Meanwhile, Katie Williams, from the council's audit team, told the committee that a follow-up report would be ready for the next committee update in June or July. "At least half of this committee will not be present at the meeting, so it would have been good to have something before we 'change councils' because it will be a new council after May whatever happens," Evans said. He also expressed surprise that Mr Wilde was not pre-briefed about some of the NWRR project before taking it on. It was previously under the stewardship of Shropshire Council's executive director of place, Mark Barrow, before he took voluntary redundancy in December. Mr Wilde said a newly formed executive board had recently met, with governance arrangements "being revisited". He added: "It wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment on what's gone on previously. My commitment is for the organisation going forward and making sure that the whole council feels like it's got the transparency it's seeking and the audit's recommendations are factored in very quickly." This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. 'Significant weakness' in relief road funding Relief road to take 25 years to be carbon neutral Local Democracy Reporting Service
BBC News
08-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Doubt over pre-election Shrewsbury relief road council debate
A key report into the feasibility of Shrewsbury's North West Relief Road (NWRR) is unlikely to be discussed by councillors until after May's local is uncertainty as to whether the full business case will be ready for a meeting of the full Shropshire Council at the end of the had been understood that the multi-million pound project would be discussed at the meeting on 27 February. However, the officer now overseeing the scheme told the council's Audit Committee on Thursday that he was unable to say when it would be published. "There are a number of things linked to that – discharging planning conditions etc," said Andy Wilde, assistant director for said: "I'm working with the team at the moment to understand what that timeline looks like. So I will need to update on that because I don't have a clear position at this moment in time." Behind schedule Councillor Roger Evans said the committee was previously told the FBC would be available in September, then December, before February was mooted."We seem to be drifting while this council continues to spend money that it can ill-afford to lose," the Liberal Democrat councillor said."This is a multi-million pound project, it has been stressed that it's at risk. The business case is still going to go to government, and they will come forward as to whether they're going to fund it or not."But Shropshire Council is still spending millions on this case with no planning permission yet issued."Meanwhile, Katie Williams, from the council's audit team, told the committee that a follow-up report would be ready for the next committee update in June or July. "At least half of this committee will not be present at the meeting, so it would have been good to have something before we 'change councils' because it will be a new council after May whatever happens," Evans also expressed surprise that Mr Wilde was not pre-briefed about some of the NWRR project before taking it on. It was previously under the stewardship of Shropshire Council's executive director of place, Mark Barrow, before he took voluntary redundancy in Wilde said a newly formed executive board had recently met, with governance arrangements "being revisited".He added: "It wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment on what's gone on previously. My commitment is for the organisation going forward and making sure that the whole council feels like it's got the transparency it's seeking and the audit's recommendations are factored in very quickly." This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
