£12 million Shrewsbury link road plans on show to public

Shropshire Council hosted a public exhibition to showcase its proposals for the road, with project manager Matt Johnson saying the response to the scheme had been "overwhelmingly positive".

The proposals were broadly welcomed by local residents attending the exhibition, although the enthusiasm was tempered by concern from some over increased traffic that will come with 750 homes to be built in the area.

The road, scheduled to be built by 2021, will connect a roundabout on Holyhead Road to the A5 at the Churncote Island. As a result, Welshpool Road will no longer connect to the A5.

Although not connected to aspirations for a North West Relief Road, the Oxon Link Road is designed to connect to the larger project if it ever comes to fruition, and would be "future fit" for relief road status.

There will be a roundabout in the middle of the section of road, connecting it to Welshpool Road via Little Oxon Road.

Residents said the success of the Oxon Link Road would depend on whether plans for the North West Relief Road ever come to fruition.

They said they welcomed any move to reduce traffic on Welshpool Road, which is used by 11,000 cars a day, but still harbour concerns that an increase in traffic from the Western Sustainable Urban Extension, amounting to 750 homes, will continue to cause problems.

Under the plans, Calcott Lane and Shepherd Lane, which currently connect Welshpool Road to Holyhead Road, would be cut off with no direct access to the new link road.

Traffic from housing estates which use the roads would consequently have to drive on to Welshpool Road, towards Shrewsbury town centre and then back along the link road to get to the A5. Traffic wanting to access Shrewsbury town centre from the west would come along the link road and then down Holyhead Road.

Michael Thomas, who lives on the Kingswood Estate, said that traffic problems in the area would only be fully alleviated when the link road is connected to the North West Relief Road.

Currently there is no certainty that the North West Relief Road will ever be built, although Shropshire Council has been awarded £1m to work on a business case for the project.

Mr Thomas said: "The link road is quite a good idea to take some traffic off this road but the plans are to put another 750 homes between the link road and the Welshpool Road and the worry for local people is the increase in traffic. We cannot get out on to the road as it is.

"The answer is the North West Relief Road but we have lived here for 30 years and that has been on the cards for all that time."

David Jones said he was in favour of anything that reduces the number of cars on the Welshpool Road. He said: "We live in Racecourse Lane and it will be easier because Welshpool Road is much quieter and that is our way out. We want anything that makes it quieter."

Matthew Douch, who lives at the junction of Holyhead Road and The Mount was another who said the project will depend upon the North West Relief Road. He said: "I think if the relief road goes from here it will be absolutely brilliant, which is what everyone has been wanting for 25 years.

"The junction where I live is already very busy and I am just concerned that there will be more traffic round there."

Copthorne councillor Peter Nutting has questioned whether public support would now swing behind a bid to build the North West Relief Road. He said: "It will be interesting to see what the public reaction to the North West Relief Road would be.

"I think 10 years ago people were opposed to it but now people are beginning to realise that with the traffic problems in the town centre and taking traffic away from Smithfield Road, it would make a huge difference." Under the plans for the Oxon Link Road there could be a reduced speed limit of 20mph on Welshpool Road as well as traffic calming measures introduced.

The exit from the A5 on to Welshpool Road will remain but will only be used to access two business sites immediately off the bypass. Council project manager Matt Johnson said they had been pleased with the overall response from residents, and that some people had been waiting at the doors for the exhibition to open.

He said: "We have had very few negative comments that we cannot address by explaining what is going on with the project." He added that there had been no issues raised which they had not expected.