Shrewsbury relief road funding announcement 'will be in coming months'

The Department for Transport confirmed it will announce if the £54.4 million request has been successful “in the coming months”.

It had been hoped a decision would be made as part of the Spring Statement.

Joe Sheppard, media officer for the DfT, said: “The department will make an announcement on this in the coming months.”

The project is expected to cost £71.4 million, with Shropshire Council contributing around £17 million.

It would link the Holyhead Roundabout with the Battlefield Link Road via the planned Oxon Link Road.

A report from highways manager Steve Brown to Shrewsbury Town Council in June confirmed the project had not been included in the first round of funding, when only three offers were made.

But he added there was an indication of “subsequent announcements” later in the year.

Wrote

Councillor Steve Davenport, portfolio holder for highways and transport, said he did not want to “pre-empt” the government’s decision.

He added: “Obviously I don’t know what the decision is going to be but I hope it will be positive.”

But he also stressed there was never a commitment to a decision being made in the spring.

It comes after Shropshire Council leader Peter Nutting and Councillor Nic Laurens, the portfolio holder for economic growth, wrote to transport secretary Chris Grayling in March voicing their disappointment at there being no decision.

They also said at that time that not delivering the scheme in April 2018 as planned could lead to a 12-month delay because of seasonal work, and warned the bid could be withdrawn altogether.

Councillor Davenport said: “It was never said at any point it would be in the Spring Statement. That was just people adding two and two together and getting five.”

But he did add a planning application for the road was “ready to go” subject to a decision being made on the funding bid.

Report by Emily Lloyd, Local Democracy Reporter