'Shropshire’s HS2': Campaigners call for ‘full and thorough’ inquiry into handling of North West Relief Road

The cost of constructing the road was originally estimated at £87.2m, but delays and increases in global construction costs have left a significant funding gap of over £176 million.

The new leaders at the council have confirmed they intend to cancel the scheme completely due to its unaffordability, but a final decision will have to be considered at a full council meeting.

Campaign group Better Shrewsbury Transport (BeST), who has long opposed the scheme, has now written to the leaders of Shropshire Council calling for a "full and thorough" inquiry into the handling of the scheme. 

Mike Streetly from BeST said that people around the county are "furious" about the "relief road disaster", and are questioning how £39m has already been spent.

He continued: "Something has clearly gone seriously wrong. A full and thorough inquiry is the only way to learn the lessons and reassure the public that something like this won’t happen again.

"When the Liberal Democrats were in opposition they were instrumental in getting Shrewsbury Town Council to call for an inquiry into the NWRR. We are asking them to follow through on this now they are in power.

"An inquiry is the only way for the council’s leaders to understand what went wrong and ensure it never happens again.

"The NWRR was Shropshire’s HS2 – a bloated, out-of-control mess that didn’t deliver anything except lucrative fees for consultants. 

"It would be a mistake to simply sweep the past few years of bad governance under the rug without getting to the bottom of what caused it to go so badly wrong.

"The public deserves to know."