'Stop digging' - campaigners call for halt to North West Relief Road project over 'huge financial risk'
Campaigners have warned Shropshire Council to abandon the North West Relief Road over concerns about the 'huge financial risk' of the scheme.
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Earlier this week Shropshire Council finally revealed key financial details around the controversial road scheme - which would complete the ring-road around Shrewsbury.
It confirmed that the overall cost of the project, which includes the Oxon Link Road, is now £215m - with £151.51m still needing to be found.
Planning permission for the road has still not been agreed, and the council needs to either secure the shortfall in funding from the government, grants, or borrow it at a cost of £1.8 and £6m a year.
One of the most important details confirmed by the Conservative-led authority is that it has already spent £39m on the scheme - money it would not get back if it takes the decision to cancel the road.
That information was released days after the council's opposition Lib Dem, Labour and Green leaders, all wrote to the government pledging to cancel the road if they take control in May's council elections.
The council has been on a solvency knife-edge for some time, and although the Conservative administration says it will deliver a balanced budget for this year, being liable for an extra £39m could have a cataclysmic impact on its balance sheet.
