'They should hang their heads in shame': Campaigners hit out at former Tory councillors amid 'zombie' Shrewsbury relief road debacle

Plans for the cancellation of the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road (NWRR) were announced yesterday (February 24) by Shropshire Council’s Liberal Democrat administration.

• We have launched free newsletters for Shrewsbury, Telford and Mid Wales. Sign up to the newsletter for your area here: https://plus.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/shrewsbury/2026/02/06/sign-up-now-to-our-new-shropshire-star-newsletters-all-for-free/

If the council approves the decision to scrap the road when it goes before full council tomorrow, it would bring a close to the saga which has seen £32 million spent on the project - without a single metre of tarmac being laid.

The council said costs of the road had risen from an original estimate of £74.2m to £162.4m.

The authority is, however, still considering the Oxon Link Road (OLR) project, which would run from the A5 at Churncote to Holyhead Road.

Campaign group Better Shrewsbury Transport (BST), which has been railing against the NWRR for several years, hit out at Shropshire Council’s previous Conservative administration for not cancelling the scheme earlier.

They also described the decision to continue looking at the OLR as “ill-judged”.

Mike Streetly, from the campaign group, said: “The news that the NWRR has been officially cancelled is a victory for all those people across Shropshire who tirelessly campaigned against this environmentally and financially disastrous road scheme. 

“BST has been warning since 2019 that the road was not only environmentally destructive but would be too expensive to build, and after seven years of campaigning, we have been proved correct. 

“The previous Conservative administrations refused to listen to sense, resulting in over £32m being wasted, money that Shropshire Council now has to repay to central Government in the form of a costly loan.

“Meanwhile, seven years have been wasted when we could have been more effectively addressing transport issues in the town through other measures.

“Former Tory councillors should hang their heads in shame. However, this announcement has a sting in its tail. 

“The council’s ill-judged decision to continue looking into the Oxon Link Road risks repeating the same mistakes all over again. Haven’t we learned anything?”

Mr Streetly added: “While the NWRR was the most damaging aspect of the scheme, building the OLR would still destroy veteran trees, put the town’s drinking water supply at risk and create more CO2 than it saves. 

“Additionally, the OLR is a ticking financial time bomb just like the NWRR. 

“The cost of the scheme has already jumped from £12.9m to £54m, yet in November 2023 the council said the OLR would never be value for money if it rose above £34m. 

“Given that work won’t start on the project any time soon, and that construction inflation continues to rage, the council risks backing yet another project that doesn’t offer value for money and will be an absolute gift to expensive consultants.

“There is no way that the council can credibly try and re-use the NWRR planning application for a standalone OLR scheme  - the planning issues and planning balance that are the basis of the decision are completely different. 

“In order to progress the OLR as a standalone project, they would need to start from scratch and pay for yet more expensive designs, planning documents and Environmental Impact Assessments – all of which is likely to make their consultants very happy. 

“Our plea to the Lib Dems is simple: don’t fall into the same trap your Conservative colleagues did. We've wasted over seven years on the zombie NWRR project when we should have been focusing time, effort, and money on sustainable transport. 

“It’s time to stop chasing environmentally destructive new roads and invest in things that are proven to actually work to reduce congestion.”