No formal public inquiry planned into North West Relief Road project
Shropshire Council will not be holding a formal public inquiry into the ill-fated North West Relief Road (NWRR) project.
The scheme was paused in June with the new Liberal Democrat-administration stating that it couldn’t afford to make up the shortfall after the cost skyrocketed.
It was initially estimated to cost £87.2 million to build the road, but over the course of eight years, the figure reached an eyewatering £215m. This was due to planning delays, significant increases in global construction costs and concerns with the scheme’s governance arrangements, cited as “a significant weakness” by external auditors.
Officers from the Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed it would not award any more money than it had already allocated for the project. Furthermore, the Local Transport Fund of £136.4m, originally mooted by the previous administration to fund the scheme, has been replaced with a Local Transport Grant totalling only £48m.
Officers also confirmed that the council would need to cancel work on the road before a formal discussion could proceed with Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood MP, the DfT and other parts of central government about the £39m it has already spent on the scheme.
Since that meeting, Shropshire Council has declared a financial emergency with latest figures showing an estimated overspend of £35.531m for 2025/26. It means that unless drastic action is taking to balance the books, a Section 114 notice could be issued, which would effectively mean that the council will be bankrupt and government commissioners would be brought in.
The NWRR project was brought up at Wednesday’s Cabinet member by Shropshire resident John Palmer, who asked if members were in favour of holding an inquiry.
In response, council leader Heather Kidd said the Lib Dem’s manifesto was that it would investigate the handling and decision making process relating to the NWRR, and did not commit to a public inquiry.
“The financial emergency means that we cannot afford the officer time or the funding to do this formally,” said Cllr Kidd.
“We will be asking scrutiny to add this to their work programme as a lessons learnt task and finish group. This is vital for the future financial health of the organisation and for future project delivery.”
