In 2009 councillors and council officers were shown the route of the proposed Shrewsbury north west relief road

Work on Shrewsbury’s long-awaited £102 million North West Relief Road is continuing behind the scenes as council officials plan a major consultation to get people’s views on the scheme.

Plans for the four-mile bypass, which will run from the A5 at Churncote Island to the western end of Battlefield Link Road, have been in the pipeline for 20 years. Last summer the Government approved £85 million for the road.

But it still faces a number of hurdles before it can become a reality,

Traffic studies must be completed and planning permission must be obtained.

It will also need to win the backing of the public. Some people are supporting but others claim it is “expensive and outdated”.

Today Martin Allard, Shropshire Council’s head of major projects, confirmed work was ongoing ahead of public consultation – four years after the last consultation into the proposals.

He said the scheme rema- ined on track for possible co- nstruction in 2014. Mr All- ard said: “A figure of £1.24 million has been put aside, agreed by cabinet in November, for work to continue on the development of a possible North West Relief Road for Shrewsbury.

“This money, allocated from April 2009 until July 2010, will ensure that the scheme remains on programme for possible construction in 2014. It will be spent on public consultation, the development of the business case which will seek funding from the Department for Transport and the appointment of a contractor to continue design work on the road.

“Previous consultations have shown that opinion is divided on whether the road should be built. The planned consultation will allow us to gain people’s current views on the benefits and impacts of the scheme before we consider whether to submit the business case to the Department for Transport.”

The consultation is expected to begin in April and a combination of methods will be used, including a manned exhibition, either in a mobile unit or in fixed location such as The Guildhall.

Unmanned mini-exhibitions will also be staged, and a “citizens’ panel” will be formed to consider the road plans.

By John Kirk