Doubt over pre-election relief road council debate

The North West Relief Road will run from Churncote Roundabout to Ellesmere Road Roundabout

A key report into the feasibility of Shrewsbury's North West Relief Road (NWRR) is unlikely to be discussed by councillors until after May's local elections.

There is uncertainty as to whether the full business case will be ready for a meeting of the full Shropshire Council at the end of the month.

It had been understood that the multi-million pound project would be discussed at the meeting on 27 February.

However, the officer now overseeing the scheme told the council's Audit Committee on Thursday that he was unable to say when it would be published.

"There are a number of things linked to that – discharging planning conditions etc," said Andy Wilde, assistant director for infrastructure.

He said: "I'm working with the team at the moment to understand what that timeline looks like. So I will need to update on that because I don't have a clear position at this moment in time."

Behind schedule

Councillor Roger Evans said the committee was previously told the FBC would be available in September, then December, before February was mooted.

"We seem to be drifting while this council continues to spend money that it can ill-afford to lose," the Liberal Democrat councillor said.

"This is a multi-million pound project, it has been stressed that it's at risk. The business case is still going to go to government, and they will come forward as to whether they're going to fund it or not.

"But Shropshire Council is still spending millions on this case with no planning permission yet issued."

Meanwhile, Katie Williams, from the council's audit team, told the committee that a follow-up report would be ready for the next committee update in June or July.

"At least half of this committee will not be present at the meeting, so it would have been good to have something before we 'change councils' because it will be a new council after May whatever happens," Evans said.

He also expressed surprise that Mr Wilde was not pre-briefed about some of the NWRR project before taking it on.

Councillor Roger Evans said the council was spending too much money on the project

It was previously under the stewardship of Shropshire Council's executive director of place, Mark Barrow, before he took voluntary redundancy in December.

Mr Wilde said a newly formed executive board had recently met, with governance arrangements "being revisited".

He added: "It wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment on what's gone on previously. My commitment is for the organisation going forward and making sure that the whole council feels like it's got the transparency it's seeking and the audit's recommendations are factored in very quickly."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.