Tories 'disappointed' with Shropshire Council's decision to pause North West Relief Road project

The Liberal Democrat-run council has confirmed that the scheme has been paused, with no further work to take place until a formal meeting has been held with central government.

It comes following discussions council leaders held with Department for Transport officials, who told them that no more money would be awarded to the project than had been allocated.

The cost of constructing the road – which the previous Conservative-run adminstration said would ease congestion in Shrewsbury – was orginally estimated at £87.2 million. But eight years later, that has increased to an eyewatering £215m.

The Local Transport Fund of £136.4m, originally mooted to fund the scheme, has also now been replaced with a Local Transport Grant that totals only £48m.

Key to what happens now is if the council will have to repay the £39m that has already been spent on the project, or not as was the case in Norfolk for a similar scheme.

Councillor Dan Thomas, the leader of the Conservatives in Shropshire, said the Labour Government “appears to be allocating substantial sums of money to urban areas and neglecting those in rural areas”.

“For a government elected with a promise of growing the economy, this demonstrates that growth is being held back in rural counties,” said Councillor Thomas.

“If we want a vibrant economy that gives young people jobs and attracts companies to invest here, we need a good transport network so that they can easily access goods and services in and out of the county, not just Shrewsbury.

“The people of Shropshire deserved better than this abandonment of a project that would have transformed their daily commute and supported economic growth across the county.”