People living and working in rural areas “deserve better” with some roads becoming “impassable” for vehicles and emergency services, say a group of councillors.
Councillors have called on Shropshire Council to put “local roads and residents first and vanity projects second” when it comes to any extra money coming from the UK Government.
Councillor Nigel Hartin shared that a road in the Clun area is in such a “dreadful state” that it causes “pain and discomfort” for a family with a disabled daughter, but the council do not have resources to fix this road. He added that there are a “myriad” of potholes that still need fixing, and described resurfacing works in Clun town centre as a “shambles”.
A four-year wait to fix a landslip along the A490 between Churchstoke and Chirbury continues with no sign of a timetable for its repair, said local councillor Heather Kidd who has been campaigning to get it resolved for residents and businesses who have suffered enough from the delays.
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The Chirbury and Worthen councillor said: “We hear that Shropshire is due millions of pounds over the next seven years courtesy of the cancellation of most of HS2. It is critical that this money is spent improving the transport needs, especially roads over all of Shropshire instead of servicing unwanted projects.
“In my division alone I have five landslips, restricting traffic on two major roads (A488 and A490). One celebrated its fourth birthday recently and still no timetable for its repair.
“In addition to this several stretches of road are almost impassible above Binweston, the Little Weston Road, Lower Lane and the road from Brockton to Rowley to name a few".
Ruth Houghton, Councillor for the Bishop's Castle area, added: “The purpose of a council is to deliver services for its residents. Foremost, in rural areas like ours, is providing decent roads and bus services. We are now at a critical juncture with our road network where significant numbers of our roads are becoming impassable for ordinary cars and probably some emergency vehicles as well.
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“In my area for example roads across the division from Norbury to Mainstone all need pothole repairs. Other roads such at Gatten and Banks Head, which is also a national cycle route, need significant investment to bring them up to a standard that is safe and useable for motorists and cyclists.
"We may be a rural and sparsely populated area but residents living and working here deserve better.
“We have been promised a significant sum of money over the seven years and there is a compelling case for addressing our roads network as a priority. This is especially true in the south-west of the county where investment has been historically low. What we certainly don’t want is the suggested expenditure of £6.2m on consultants as suggested by Shropshire Council’s administration plus £17m more on the relief road.”
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