Shropshire Council has submitted 100 new planning documents for the NWRR to try and allay some of the concerns raised by statutory consultees such as the Environment Agency and Natural England in response to the first planning application (2021).  However, according to Better Shrewsbury Transport, the revisions do not  address any of the fundamental issues with the road which includes the destruction of wildlife habitat including ancient trees and vital hedgerows and the production of at least 50,000 tonnes of carbon. Moreover the revisions have increased the total area of land affected by the road by 40%. Shropshire Council is planning to spend at least £87 million, plus an unlimited overspend on constructing the NWRR.  This is despite a recent Shropshire Council budget consultation asking for views on how to make £50 million in savings.  

A new round of public consultation is open if you wish to comment on the revised NWRR plans:  

• you can email planning.northern@shropshire.gov.uk using the planning application reference no. 21/00924/EIA in the Subject and make sure you include your name and address

• or comment via the Shropshire Council Planning portal  

• or use the online form found on the Road To Ruin Shropshire website 

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The deadline for comments is 11 March 2023. However, Better Shrewsbury Transport hope that emails will be taken into account until the planning officers submit their report in May 2023.

For more information about the history of the road and campaign please see the Better Shrewsbury Transport website.

Meanwhile in Wales....

The Welsh Government following the review of their National Transport Plan has made the decision to scrap all major road building projects in Wales and ensure all future roads must pass a strict criteria including that they must not increase carbon emissions. Read the full article by Teleri Glyn Jones in the BBC online (published 14/2/23) here.