Shropshire Star

£5 million pedestrian bridge plan approved over A5 at Oswestry.

A plan for a £5m pedestrian bridge over one of Shropshire's busiest roads has been approved.

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Mile End Roundabout

Shropshire Council had put forward the plan, which would create a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists to cross over the A5 at Mile End on the outskirts of Oswestry.

The council's planning department has now approved the scheme, which is part the enabling works for the proposed Oswestry Innovation Park near the End Roundabout.

It is also part of the plans to change the layout of the A5 at the roundabout.

Under the work, which is already underway, the council is creating a second island to the north east of Mile End roundabout and will close off the current A5 north exit off the existing roundabout.

It will mean that traffic using the A5 will be able to bypass the existing Mile End Roundabout and also gain access to the proposed future Innovation Park.

The 59-metre bridge will cross the newly-created stretch of the A5 to the north of the new roundabout, with ramps either side connecting the B4579 Shrewsbury Road to the west with the proposed Innovation Park to the east.

Criticised

During the consultation on the plans Highways England had criticised the design of the bridge, saying "aesthetically the existing proposal is deemed poor".

A submission with the application from WSP, which designed the scheme on behalf of Shropshire Council, said: “Shropshire Council has secured £5 million funding of Growth Deal funding from the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to construct a pedestrian and cycle bridge over the A5 to the north of the Mile End Roundabout.

“A pedestrian and cycle link is an aspiration of Shropshire Council and is included in local planning policy and the need for a pedestrian bridge was mentioned several times in the public consultation for the Mile End Junction Improvements Scheme.

“The proposed scheme forms essential infrastructure which will link the sustainable urban extension (SUE) to the west of the proposed scheme with the future Oswestry Innovation Park located to the east.

“This strategic location will accommodate a mix of new housing, employment land, a local centre, a network of open space and green infrastructure.”

In the application the council said that at first it expects the bridge to be used for 53 trips a day for leisure purposes, rising to around 1,000 daily movements once the Innovation Park is completed.