Shrewsbury's North West Relief Road scrapes past latest planning hurdle
Shrewsbury's relief road plans have passed their latest hurdle after councillors signed off on a huge increase in carbon generated by the project.
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The controversial project was taken back to Shropshire Council's northern planning committee after the authority revealed a huge increase in the estimated amount of carbon that will be produced by the scheme.
The increased projection was a result of new methodology required by the Department for Transport as part of the full business case being drawn up for the proposal.
The estimate provided with the 2021 planning statement for the application was for 26,711 tonnes of carbon from the project to be offset.
But the new estimate details a significant increase to 55,904 tonnes of carbon.
The council admitted that the change means it can no longer offset the carbon produced by the road by the stated target date of 2030.
Instead it will now be 2050 by the time the target is reached.
The planning committee voted to approve the proposal although the vote was split on party lines, with Conservative councillors carrying the motion by five to four.
An alternative motion put forward by Green Party Councillor Julia Evans and backed by Liberal Democrat Andy Boddington was defeated by five to four - with Conservative councillors voting against.
