Shrewsbury's North West Relief Road is officially cancelled by councillors
Shrewsbury's North West Relief Road has been officially cancelled by councillors.
The decision on the controversial road was taken in a vote proposed by the Liberal Democrat administration at today's full meeting of Shropshire Council, held at Guildhall.
It brings to an end the sorry saga of the road, which has seen £39m spent, without a single metre of tarmac to show for it.
The Oxon Link Road, which was previously a standalone scheme and was added to the North West Relief Road, has not been cancelled, with the council pledging an update on it at a later date.
Councillor David Vasmer, Liberal Democrat portfolio holder for highways announced the paper recommending the road's cancellation, and criticised the previous Conservative administration for its handling of the project.
He said: "It should have been cancelled before now. However, that is not an option for this council after the previous one led by the conservatives repeatedly ignored calls to face reality.
"I know that some will celebrate if we pass the resolution today but we must recognise the funding has effectively been wasted. I know some will be disappointed if we pass the resolution today, but it is the only financially prudent thing to do.
"Money talks and whatever your views on the effectiveness of the North West Relief Road on congestion, no one can argue against the prohibitive costs."
He added that it would have required payments of £4.5m a year for 50 years.
He said: "Today we must face the financial reality and address the recklessness of previous leaders and cabinet members who believed false promises given by government ministers in off the cuff remarks during election campaigns."
Conservative Councillor Ed Potter, said that there would be huge frustration at the decision in his Loton division.
He said: "I do not intend to look backwards, you made a political commitment to cancel the road and that is a decision which will be taken today. What concerns me now is the here-and-now for my residents, the North West Relief Road was widely supported by very many of my residents. Loton is the rural Division covering a significant proportion of the north western rural area which surrounds Shrewsbury town urban area."
He added that the use of many local routes as rat runs is not suitable with "narrow, very windy, and poorly maintained roads".
He said: "My communities in Montford Bridge, Forton, Mytton, Nibs Heath and the Ness’s have been promised this road as a solution to these problems for nearly 40 years - that’s longer than I have walked this earth.
"You can imagine their disappointment at this decision today. In removing one problem you are facing it does not remove all the problems. We have serious concerns locally and rightfully residents are asking what is Shropshire Council's plan now to support these rural communities."
He added: "For a town like Shrewsbury this council needs a vision and a plan, Shrewsbury deserves a vision and a plan. Town centre traffic issues which I have been looking at through the Economy and Environment task and finish group will need rapid and significant consideration especially if you want to remove 5,500 cars from Smithfield Road each day without consequences - either for motorists or other areas of Shrewsbury where traffic will be pushed.
"You may not be able to afford the NWRR and that is a decision you have taken, but nor does there appear to be an alternative plan or funding to resolve some to acute problems residents of my division are facing on daily basis and those of the wider Shrewsbury area."
Councillor Carl Rowley, of Reform, said: "This administration had no intention of building the North West Relief Road and no borrowing was done to build it, they just did not want it."
He added: "Shropshire residents, particularly those in the North, will now suffer because of this."
'A tragedy' that so many millions have been wasted
He further stated that Shrewsbury was seeing huge focus on housing development that would put further strain on the Battlefield area, rat runs, and the A49.
He said that without improvements to roads "it is just not sustainable, it cannot be done."
Labour Group leader Rosemary Dartnall said it was "a tragedy" that so many millions had been wasted on the project, adding: "We will never know the true cost of this project to the council and to the public in terms of officer time spent on an unaffordable road."
She said the Conservatives had known the extra costs would always fall on the council.
She said: "The Department for Transport in the 2019 grant decision made clear that all spending on this project was at risk to the council - and what a risk that would turn out to be."
Green Party councillor Julian Dean also criticised the previous administration, rejecting suggestions that legal challenges had derailed the project.
He said: "The reason this road failed under this administration was not actually down to the campaign - much as we would love to take credit for it - it was not down to any legal challenge it just ran out of road because you could not get it over the line financially, you could not get the 106 agreement agreed in time, so really it is a bit of a joke to to blame others for failings. You had years to try and deliver this scheme and you did not manage it."
