Shropshire Council has released a deeply misleading graphic about the NWRR – we have provided a corrected version below. We then debunk various myths about the road in more detail in the following sections.
We provide a comprehensive rebuttal of Lezley Picton’s recent, seriously misleading claims about the NWRR here https://www.bettershrewsburytransport.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Open-Letter-to-Lilian-Greenwood-re-contoversial-Shrewsbury-NWRR.pdf
The economic ‘case’ for the road
Shropshire Council claims that the NWRR will unlock economic growth in Shrewsbury but we say that the proposed road is unaffordable and poor value for money. It does not address the real transport constraints on economic growth in Shrewsbury (e.g. Battlefield and Dobbies roundabouts).
The transport ‘benefits’ of the road
Decades of evidence shows that building new roads simply diverts existing traffic from one place to another and then encourages extra ‘induced traffic’ which adds to the number of cars on the road. Shropshire Council’s data show that the majority of vehicle journeys in Shrewsbury are private vehicles being used for personal journeys (i.e. school run, shopping, visiting friends etc.). We say that a substantial number of these journeys can be cheaply and efficiently diverted into other modes of transport thus freeing up existing infrastructure for essential users (businesses, emergency services etc.)
Environmental benefits of the NWRR?
Shropshire Council has attempted to claim that there will be environmental benefits from the proposed new road. In fact, building the road will have a devastating impact on the natural environment (including the atmosphere) and the green spaces the people of Shrewsbury rely on for relief from the stresses of modern life.