Transport Minister confirms pledge to 'fully fund' North West Relief Road

The comments, from Mark Harper MP, reiterate the pledge to 'fully fund' the road, which was issued after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced he was scrapping the northern leg of HS2.

In an interview with the BBC Mr Harper said that funding the whole of the project would allow it to be completed more quickly.

He said: "Local authorities have had trouble meeting their part of that so what we have committed to do with the money we have saved is we are going to pay the whole of that cost, and in many cases that will bring forward when that project can be delivered."

It is still not clear how much money the government will provide, or what the full cost of the project now is.

The Shropshire Star has made several requests with the Department for Transport for the detail of the HS2 pledges and had been told to expect indicative allocations shortly.

In 2019 the cost of the road was estimated at around £80m – with the government providing £54.4m of that total.

But last year Shrewsbury & Atcham's Conservative MP, Daniel Kawczynski, asked the government for an additional £27.5m for the project – which he said accounted for three quarters of the cost increase.

The pledge to fully fund the road will come as a huge relief to Shropshire Council's administration, with opponents of the plan repeatedly citing the council's responsibility to cover rising costs as a reason the scrap the project.

It would remove one of the major obstacles to project going ahead.

Mr Kawczynski welcomed the developments, and said he had 'called in all favours' with the government as he attempted to persuade them to support the project in recent months.

He said: "Clearly if this news is correct, that Mark Harper has said the government will fund the entire shortfall that is excellent news.

"I have personally asked the prime minister and the transport minister, and called in all the favours I have with the government to fund the shortfall of this project.

"I am recognizant and grateful for the persistence of Shropshire Council's leadership in trying to bring this project to fruition."