Action Briefing Apr 2003 - May 2003
	The Newsletter of Birmingham Friends of the Earth

West Midlands News

Shropshire Roads and Supermarkets

As previously reported, Tesco's application to build a supermarket on the livestock market in Shrewsbury has gone to a 6-week public inquiry. There was strong opposition from the town’s traders and the County Council, and the evidence given exposed the holes in Tesco’s argument, placing them on the back foot.

Shrewsbury FoE exposed the plan as a hidden greenfield development that would only work if the livestock market moved to a greenfield site. We also commented on Tesco's downplaying of the proposed store's potential turnover and the volume of traffic it would generate. The inspector indicated that his report would be with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) by late May.

Meanwhile, the campaign against the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road goes from strength to strength. Shrewsbury FoE initiated a public meeting of over 150 people, a walk along the route attracting a further 30 folk. The road has no money allocated to it, no formal planning permission, and little support from the Government Office of the West Midlands (GOWM).

What's more, the approx. 3 mile long road is costed at £40m owing to the difficult terrain and geological problems. However, the County has spent £0.5m on land purchase and the GOWM has footed £100,000 to conduct a review of the scheme. The County also launched an exhibition and questionnaire of its preferred route earlier this year.

An alliance, under the banner 'No WAY!', is opposing the scheme. Shrewsbury FoE, Shropshire CPRE and the County’s Wildlife Trust are in, along with a residents group. At the public meeting and in the press, the leader of the Borough Council and a county councillor could only put forward the weakest of arguments in support of the plans.

The results of the consultation are due soon and will stimulate the next stage in the campaign. Actions are planned for June as part of CPRE’s landscape week and Green Transport week.

Chris Crean