Shropshire Star

Long-term vision for A5 in Shropshire now 'vital'

Shropshire Council must develop a long-term vision for the A5 corridor through the county rather than piecemeal development, a campaign group has said.

Published
Mile End roundabout

The Oswestry Civic Society has claimed the council is persisting in ad hoc planning of land use, economic development and transport without any overall vision.

The criticism follows the release of information about plans for a major redevelopment of the Mile End Roundabout where the A5 and the A483 converge on the Oswestry bypass.

The work which would involve creating a second roundabout on Shropshire County Council land is to be carried out following the award of £9.3m from the government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund to improve the capacity of the road network and improve the viability of planned housing developments.

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In January last year the society met to look at the future of the town in 30 years time saying the population of the area could be as much as 35,000.

It suggested developing an A5 corridor with Park Hall, Gobowen and Whittington benefitting from better transport links.

David Ward, spokesman for the society, said: “For 21 months the society has been pressing for a strategic plan for development and transport in the A5 corridor, to be developed with the public. Shropshire Council persists in imposing piecemeal planning of land use, economic development and transport without any overall long-term vision which would tie these aspects of development together.

Essential

“Land use as presently planned actively works against effective public transport service of the area. The Mile End proposals are developed in isolation, without any reference to a comprehensive view of the longer term.

“Had long term planning been undertaken, it is likely that it would have pointed towards a wider solution to the effective service of the area as a whole, rather than wasteful piecemeal approaches such as this.”

He said the Civic Society recognised that there was capacity problems all along the A5 corridor, which often imposed costs on industry and inconvenience for travellers.

“Additional developments, such as the Eastern Extension of Oswestry and the proposed Innovation Park will add to the demand for movement through the junctions along the whole route.

“Global heating and climate disruption urgently require changes in the way we live, work and travel, and it is essential that development patterns make the required changes in lifestyle easier.

"The proposals for Mile End are an example of ‘business as usual’ with apparently no plans for public transport priority access to the new development sites, nor any indication of how cyclists may travel safely through the junction.”