Shrewsbury MP to ask for another £30m for relief road

Daniel Kawczynski said the North West Relief Road is "extremely important" for Shrewsbury

The government is being asked for another £30m to fund a ring road.

About £54m was promised for the North West Relief Road around Shrewsbury in 2019, but MP Daniel Kawczynski said costs have risen since then.

The total cost of the scheme had been £80m, but in recent months Shropshire Council admitted costs would be higher than first anticipated.

But the authority said it does not yet have a final estimate for the cost of the road.

Conservative MP Mr Kawczynski, who represents Shrewsbury and Atcham, said the time taken to get planning permission for the project was "enormously" concerning and costs had risen because of inflation.

He said he would talk to the Secretary of State for Transport, to ask for money and to express his displeasure with the planning system.

He said: "We cannot continue as a country to have such an extraordinarily difficult and complex planning process which sees major infrastructure projects of this kind so delayed in construction."

Mr Kawczynski also described the road as "extremely important" for the town and said it would reduce congestion and help businesses there.

Plans for the road have proved controversial and attracted hundreds of objections from people living nearby

Critics of the project have said it would be irresponsible to spend more money on it.

Mike Streetly, from the campaign group Better Shrewsbury Transport, said he believed the money Mr Kawczynski wanted would be insufficient.

He also questioned why Mr Kawczynski was "rushing to ask for money now", before the full business case was published.

Richard Marshall, the Shropshire Council member responsible for highways, said: "Initial cost estimates are currently being assessed and challenged as part of the preparation of the final business case."

He said until that final business case was published, the authority could not comment on forecast costs, but would "continue to work with external funders in order to explore options around any additional funding that may potentially be available if required."