The construction of the North West Relief Road in Shrewsbury has been a long standing campaign for me ever since I became a member of Parliament. Not only will the road unlock large amounts of economic growth for the county bringing with it jobs, it will also reduce congestion both in small villages and the Town Centre. Many people in rural villages such as Bomere Heath are understandably unhappy that their village roads are being used as a rat run because of a lack of a North West Relief Road.
Initially, I persuaded the Government to provide £1m in funding to the Local Enterprise Partnership and Shropshire Council so that they could put together the business case for the road and in March 2019, we were successful in achieving £54m of investment for the North West Relief Road.
In October 2023, the Prime Minister announced that part of the planned HS2 rail link would be cancelled and that £36m would be diverted to local transport schemes in the North and Midlands. As a result of this it has now been confirmed to me that the government will meet 100% of this project.
Shropshire Council's Planning Committee are set to consider the planning application, which is recommended for approval, on 31 October 2023.
