Shropshire Star

Campaigners waste no time in lobbying new government over Shrewsbury relief road 'folly'

Campaigners battling against Shrewsbury's North West Relief Road have wasted no time in lobbying the new Transport Secretary to scrap the project.

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Last week's general election saw Julia Buckley voted in as Labour MP for Shrewsbury, marking a potentially significant shift in the backing for the road.

Her predecessor, the Conservative Daniel Kawczynski, was a committed supporter of the project, and had made the issue a central point of his re-election campaign.

Mrs Buckley has previously called for the road, which is proposed by Shropshire Council, to be scrapped, with any funding to be diverted to other transport projects.

The election result leaves major uncertainty over the future of the road, with the previous Conservative government pledging to fully-fund the project – but crucially providing no formal written agreement to cover the costs of the road.

It is yet to be seen if the new Labour Government has the same commitment to the project.

Shropshire Council's position on the road has not changed, with the authority's Conservative administration still fully behind the scheme.