The need for a relief road

Completing the circle

The North West Relief Road will complete a ring around Shrewsbury that’s been unfinished for 30 years.

Links between the north and west of Shrewsbury are presently very poor. The most direct route passes through the 'river loop' and consists entirely of single carriageway, all-purpose roads, including residential and shopping streets. Congestion on these routes causes delays and makes journeys unreliable.

As a result, some of the traffic between north and west uses other, longer routes to avoid the town centre. This adds even more traffic to the already busy A5 and A49, meaning long delays both in town an on the outer ring road.

Improving road safety

Some traffic uses the network of small lanes to the northwest of Shrewsbury as 'rat runs' to avoid the town altogether. This makes the roads in Shrewsbury’s surrounding villages much less safe. Villages surrounding Shrewsbury to the north are blighted by heavy goods vehicles using narrow roads to travel across the area, causing noise and air pollution, and impacting on the quality of life for those communities.

The lack of appropriate road access to the northwest of Shrewsbury also makes it more difficult for people living in villages to the north of the town to easily access key services provided in town.

An evolving Shropshire

Shrewsbury and the surrounding areas of Shropshire are special places, with the area named one of the top ten global travel destinations in 2024 by ABTA. However, they have to adapt to remain relevant, prosperous and sustainable communities in a changing world.

Noise, visual intrusion and poor air quality affect people in residential areas and the town centre, as well as people walking and cycling. Accident rates are higher on roads not designed to modern standards. Journeys to work and for business can be slow and unreliable, adding to the cost of transport (including public transport) and discouraging investment. As Shrewsbury continues to develop and grow, these problems are expected to get worse, affecting the town’s economy and local people’s quality of life.