Opposition rallies against North West Relief Road as decision day approaches

The much-delayed project has made significant progress in recent weeks, with the Government pledging to 'fully fund' the road, and Severn Trent dropping major objections to the proposal going before a planning committee.

It means that after nearly two years of delays, the plan is finally set to be considered by councillors on October 31.

One of the key elements to the latest developments was Severn Trent agreeing that testing over the potential for the road's construction to contaminate Shrewsbury's drinking water could be agreed as a condition of planning permission – and not carried out before the application is considered.

Ahead of the crunch decision Lib Dem, Labour, and Green Party Councillors have all called for a re-think, while campaigners have described the plan as a "Halloween horror" and pledged to continue the battle in the courts if necessary.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Rob Wilson said the council's focus – and funding – should be elsewhere.

He said: "I am very sceptical about the Government’s commitment to spend nearly £200m on transport infrastructure in Shropshire.

"However, if true, the council should be looking again at the priorities for the whole county and considering whether four miles of additional ring road around Shrewsbury is the best use of public money.

"It could be shared out across the county."

Despite the call for the funding to be used elsewhere, government money previously confirmed for the North West Relief Road, totalling around £54m, can only be used for that specific project, although Shropshire Council could use its own funding on other schemes.

Meanwhile, Shropshire Council's Labour group leader, Councillor Julia Buckley, said the plan had 'little credibility', and questioned if government promises over funding could be relied upon.

She said: "Whilst the issues of congestion continue to blight our town and speeding rat runs through our outlying villages, the latest announcement is unlikely to reassure residents that it offers a serious solution.

"Firstly, can any infrastructure announcement be trusted from this Government in the light of HS2? And secondly, has the DfT fully costed the road and the lifetime commitment to mitigating the water bore hole contamination?

"Residents and motorists in Shrewsbury need serious, practical solutions to our very real problems of congestion, air pollution, and dangerous speeding through village country lanes.

"The development of Battlefield industrial estate needs supporting with real, affordable, and practical measures to support residents, businesses, and motorists as soon as possible, not some pie-in-the-sky announcement to spend over £200m with little credibility."

Green Party Councillor Julian Dean said carbon emissions from the project would be "unacceptable", and warned the construction would cause "irreparable environmental damage".

He added: "It seems the people of Shropshire will now be asked to accept 'planning conditions' to protect our water supplies. These conditions may well be difficult to enforce and add costs and further delay."

Campaigner Mike Streetly, from Better Shrewsbury Transport, said they would be prepared to continue the battle against the plans – including in the courts.

He said: "We’re prepared to fight this all the way to the bitter end, including a legal challenge. On the basis of recent performance, who would trust Shropshire Council to look after our drinking water?"