The final phase of a 40-year project to build a ring road in Market Drayton is set to go ahead after council bosses earmarked £2.7 million for the scheme.

County traffic bosses say work to build an inner relief road, from Stafford Street to Phoenix Bank, will start after April this year, bringing the scheme which started decades ago to a finish.

Money for the final phase of the ring road has come from a £7 million cash pot from the sale of North Shropshire District Council’s housing stock.

Cash from the same source will be used to buy a site for Ellesmere’s new medical centre after district councillors gave the go-ahead to plans at a meeting behind closed doors this week.

Martin Allard, Shropshire County Council’s head of traffic and safety, said Shropshire Council’s implementation executive, which is overseeing the change to unitary status, had approved plans to use money from the district council to build the road.

“The implementation executive has recently approved the use of North Shropshire District Council’s capital receipts to develop the third and final phase of a £3.4 million Market Drayton inner relief road from Stafford Street to Phoenix Bank,” he said.

Work so far has been carried out in two phases – the first to build Frogmore Road was completed about 40 years ago and the second to join Towers Lawn and Stafford Street was completed about 15 years ago.

David Minnery, the leader of North Shropshire District Council, said: “I’m abso-lutely delighted because we’ve been waiting for this for years, and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to get the job finished.

“I’m sure that when it’s done it will help revitalise that part of the town.”