Transport minister's boost for A5 upgrade campaign

Andrew Jones travelled by tractor to see for himself the problems on the A5 and was told by leaders of the county's business, civic, education, tourism and farming community, as well as emergency services chiefs, that it is vital that the road is made a dual carriageway north of Shrewsbury.

• MORE: MP encouraged about Shrewsbury north-west link road progress

The under secretary of state had to negotiate an accident black spot – Shotatton crossroads between Shrewsbury and Oswestry – in the slow moving vehicle after hearing from farmers how dangerous it was.

He also travelled the 22 miles of single carriageway A5 between Montford Bridge and the Welsh border by car with North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson and heard from local businesses, emergency services and council chiefs of the need to see the trunk road become a dual carriageway.

Mr Jones told a packed meeting at the British Ironwork Centre that he was optimistic that a long term scheme to dual it could enter England's strategic roads programme.

He said: "I am optimistic that the A5 can go forward to the strategic programme. For years we have had a stop-start approach to road building but now we are planning ahead.

"We will put £15.2 billion into road investment in the five years from 2020 and we are planning ahead now."

Mr Jones was told that 48 people had died from road accidents on the A5 since the early 1990s.

After hearing of problems facing businesses, tourists and local people using the A5 north of Shrewsbury, Mr Jones said: "This side of the county has huge potential for business expansion and tourism."

Shropshire Council chief executive Clive Wright, who spoke to the minister at the centre, said: "The west and Wales have huge opportunities to flourish and the A5 is the arterial route into Wales.

"Shropshire is well placed to benefit but we need the infrastructure of a good road network."

Later in the day he met campaigners in Pant and Llanymynech, through which travels the A483. They want a bypass for their villages.

The minister was told that more than 18,000 vehicles a day used the A5 between Shrewsbury and Oswestry, seven per cent of them being lorries.

The figures jumped to almost 24,000 on the Oswestry bypass, where almost 10 per cent is heavy goods traffic.

There had been a 33 per cent growth in traffic levels from 1993, 7.5 per cent in the last five years.

Farmer Simon Gittins, whose tractor Mr Jones had been a passenger in, said that it was not only agricultural traffic but residents and other businesses that had to use the A5 and local roads crossing it.

Malcolm Roberts, chairman of the regional National Farmers Union and Oswestry Show, said: "We had exhibitors that took two hours to gain access to our showground last year because of the traffic on the trunk road, that is unacceptable," he said.

Shropshire's chief fire officer John Redmond and David McWilliams, West Mercia Police commander, talked of their safety fears and the human tragedy of incidents on the road.

Problems affecting education was also raised by school transport providers Owen's Coaches and Jackie Doodson principal of North Shropshire College who said 1,000 students had to use the local roads.

Neil Jenkins, chairman of Oswestry Chamber of Trade, and Mandy Thorn of Shropshire Business Board said the A5 was stifling business opportunities for Shropshire.