Sustainable communities

The NWRR directly complements the Shrewsbury Moves sustainable travel strategy by significantly reducing levels of traffic heading into and out of the town centre. This is a crucial part of creating an environment that encourages walking, cycling and the increased use of public transport with shorter journey times. The road will mean that traffic from the north and west will no longer need to travel through town, reducing strain on the A5, A458 and A528.

Cleaner air

Fewer vehicles passing through the town centre means cleaner air. The NWRR will contribute to better air quality, promoting the health and wellbeing of everyone in the area. Reduced traffic emissions will result in a more pleasant environment for pedestrians, cyclists, and residents in Shrewsbury.

Connecting rural communities

The NWRR is essential in ensuring that more distant communities and villages in the area, whose residents are much more likely to be car-dependent, can still access jobs, education, services and businesses in Shrewsbury. As key facilities like bank branches, health facilities, and employment and education become concentrated in towns and cities, villages across Shropshire have struggled to sustain themselves as young people move away in search of better opportunities. Providing better connections to these villages will help to encourage younger residents to remain.

The NWRR will help to attract new employers to the area, helping to provide a positive future for younger people and families so that they don’t have to leave the area to prosper.

Ensuring that it remains an attractive place to live for younger people and families is important in ensuring that both Shrewsbury and its surrounding villages remain sustainable communities into the future.

Safer roads and fewer HGVs

Many Shropshire villages to the northwest of Shrewsbury are currently blighted by traffic 'rat runs' trying to bypass the long loop around Shrewsbury created by the incomplete ring road, with HGVs trying to avoid the A5 thundering through villages such as Ruyton XI Towns, Baschurch, Forton Health and Montford Bridge.

For Shrewsbury the NWRR will provide an alternative route for vehicles travelling between the north and west of the town (removing the need for vehicles to travel into and out of Shrewsbury).