Almost £17m of capital funding sought to progress Shrewsbury North West Relief Road plans

A report seeking the authority for a further £16.981,000 of capital funding towards the delivery of the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road (NWRR) is to be considered at a council meeting next week.

This follows the approval of the planning conditions at the council's planning committee meeting on February 15.

If approved, Shropshire Council said the request is "not a request for extra funding and forms a part of the council's existing commitment to the scheme".

As a capital scheme, the money set aside for this cannot, by law, be used to pay for the day-to-day running of council services.

The council say the amount reflects the increase in costs due to the complexity and scale of the scheme, as well as an extended planning process and subsequent high inflation rates.

Around £7m or 40 per cent of this funding would come from the Department for Transport (DfT) as part of the Large Local Majors Grant for 24/25, with the remaining money being match funded by the council through developer contributions.

The council says the money would be used to fund advance works costs for things like the diversion of utilities and creating new habitats for protected species, £181,500 to deliver the Full Business Case expected later this year, and £300,000 to cover the funding gap between the current council spend delegation and costs incurred to date.

Dan Morris, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways, said: “This additional budget delegation is needed to enable us to complete the FBC process on time and to the required quality and standards, ensuring that the scheme’s costs, benefits, risks, and delivery plan are robustly and transparently assessed and presented.”

Shropshire Council has said the estimated cost of the road remains at £80.7m, although a revised figure is currently being sought and will be shared as part of the FBC, which will be considered by the council before being submitted to the DfT in December 2024.

In October 2023, the Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper said the government would ‘fully fund’ the scheme.

While no formal offer has yet been received by the authority, Shropshire Council says the offer "explicitly states that it will address the recent uncontrollable inflationary pressures for local authorities in delivering such projects."

Shropshire Council said that officers are in regular contact with the DfT and have been given "no reason to believe" that Government support for the road "will be anything other than that announced by the Secretary of State".