Another £17m to be ploughed into controversial Shrewsbury road scheme

A meeting of the full Shropshire Council on Thursday rejected an amendment to only spend much less on producing a full business case and wait before moving "utilities".

The proceedings came after another protest from objectors outside Shirehall in Shrewsbury.

Councillor Dan Morris, the council's highways chief, said the road is a "critical and urgent project" vital to reducing congestion and creating safer roads in Shrewsbury.

He spoke of the "chaos" in the town before the A5 Southern Bypass was built and slammed a "vocal minority" of opponents.

He also appealed for colleagues not to confuse the council's revenue budget, which needs to prune £61m, and the capital fund.

Opponent Councillor Julian Dean claimed that residents and councillors are "still being kept in the dark" over the total cost of the highly controversial project.

"This £17m is a punt on the scheme reaching a sympathetic minister," he added, pointing to the possibility of there being a change of Government come the next General Election.

Supporter Councillor Nick Bardsley said he remembers what Shrewsbury was like before the bypass that was built in the 1990s.

"There was appalling traffic congestion and pollution," he said.

He added that the new road would be a "very worthwhile road scheme" and that people would "wonder how we managed without it" when it gets built.

Opponent Councillor Rosemary Dartnell said the £17 million would be on top of £27 million already committed, making a total of £44 million on an "uncosted project".

She said £9.5 million would be spent on moving utilities in a highly uncertain project which she called a "reckless spending proposal".

Councillor Caroline Bagnall said £144,000 was allocated for bat boxes and badger setts.

"I have nothing against bats and badgers but that money could do an enormous good in our communities," she said.

"This is kissing goodbye to a huge amount of money, there are so many things it could have paid for."

Councillor David Vasmer said if every councillor received an equal slice of the £17million it would give them £250,000 each. He claimed that Councillor Morris could then have the pedestrian crossing that he wants in Leebotwood.

Proposing an amendment Councillor Andrew Sherrington said it would be tantamount to spending £44million on something without a business case.

The retired financial controller said the business case should come first and then it should be brought back to the council for approval for any further spending.

After the meeting Councillor Sherrington said the council was "putting the cart before the horse."

This would equate to £165,000 plus a contingency, said Councillor Dean.

But Councillor Morris said the work to move utilities needed to be done to make a start on the road.

Councillor Sherrington's amendment was lost on a recorded vote by 32 votes to 37.

Councillor Dean Carroll, supporting the substantive motion to allocate the near £17 million, said they did not want to create more "unnecessary delays".

"We will cause the costs to rise further if we delay it," he added.

He accused opponents of "selling bridges to pretend we could bank the money" by arguing that it could be used for other projects.

Councillor Morris added that putting a figure on the full cost would "set a bar" for companies bidding for contracts.

A recorded vote on the final substantive motion was passed by 37 votes to 32.

The council now intends to complete the final business case for the project for consideration by the council and Department for Transport by this December.

A paper presented to the council blamed the rise in costs on the protracted planning permission process giving rise to the need to continue to incur expenditure on key activities.

Council officers say the period has also seen unprecedented market inflation since the project's outline business case was put together in 2017.

Some £6.667m of the near £17 million is expected to come from the Department for Transport.

Watch the full council meeting on YouTube