'Excerpts' of unpublished business case provided to organisations to support the North West Relief Road

Last week Shropshire Council published a statement with a number of organisations showing support for the planned Shrewsbury road.

They included local health bosses, the chief officer of Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, and the region's police and crime commissioner.

Anti-relief road campaigners questioned what data the organisations had been shown ahead of their comments.

Mike Streetly, from the campaign group Better Shrewsbury Transport (BeST) said: "We were very surprised to see senior leaders from public bodies coming out in support of this project since the traffic modelling that would support their claims hasn’t been publicly released by the council. 

"One of two things seems to have happened: either these leaders have been given access to confidential information that isn’t being shared with the planning committee; or they are giving their full-throated support for the road without properly examining the evidence."

Shropshire Council's portfolio holder for highways, Councillor Dan Morris, has responded to the query and explained that the parties in question had been shown "excerpts" of the as-yet unpublished full business case (FBC).

He also said that public comments from BeST had led directly to the meetings with the organisations to "provide an update on the FBC and dispel some of the myths around the impact of the NWRR". 

He said: "These stakeholders have been shown excerpts from the traffic, collision, and journey-time modelling that has been undertaken as part of the FBC. Our statements on the impact of the NWRR have been informed by this same data.

 “As noted, the stakeholders who have issued statements in support of the road are not highways experts – as such each of their comments focuses on the impact they expect the NWRR to have on the services they provide, based on the information available in the draft FBC.

"These statements were made by specialists in their respective fields after careful consideration of the information that has been made available to them. The comments are not intended to remark on the overall viability of the scheme, only its expected impact on those services."

 Mr Morris added: "Shropshire Council are committed to delivering the best possible scheme for Shropshire, and both the OBC and upcoming FBC show that the NWRR will bring significant benefits to the county.

He concluded: "We remain dedicated to working with stakeholders, the public, and campaigners, to ensure that this vital piece of local infrastructure delivers real, tangible benefits for people across Shropshire.”

It is anticipated that the FBC will go before the full council for approval later this year. 

The approval of the FBC would mark the final milestone before the project is sent to the Department for Transport for a decision on funding.