Council agrees £150m capital programme for new financial year

Investments in broadband, business parks, green energy and schools are among the multi-million pound projects to be funded by Shropshire Council in the next year.

The schemes, totalling £150 million, are set out in the authority’s 2021/22 capital programme, signed off by the cabinet on Monday as part of the council’s five-year capital strategy.

It also lists the projects set to come to fruition in the 2022/23 financial year, to the tune of £115m.

Funding for the programme will come from government grants, borrowing and other sources like the community infrastructure levy (CIL).

Councillor Steve Charmley, portfolio holder for assets, said he was pleased to see projects aimed at jobs growth in the pipeline for the coming two years.

They include £9.3m towards improvements at Oswestry’s Mile End Roundabout, awarded from the government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund in order to increase capacity of the road network.

He said: “It’s an enabling fund which opens up 800 houses and 500 jobs on the innovation park adjacent to it.”

A further £3.1m is set to be invested in an expansion of Bishop’s Castle Business Park.

Councillor Charmley said these schemes were “essential for for economic growth success across the county”.

He added: “They are evidence that this administration is investing in growth and laying the foundations to unleash Shropshire’s potential.”

Councillor Dean Carroll, portfolio holder for public heath, adult social care and climate change, said the £4.8 million earmarked towards a new medical centre at Pauls Moss in Whitchurch had been “very much needed for a great many years”.

He said: “We are conscious they have gone from three to two, and now from two to one medical practice in Whitchurch.

“So to get the Pauls Moss scheme finally off the ground with this capital investment – together with the CCG and Wrekin Housing – will be fantastic for the people of Whitchurch and surrounding communities.”

Councillor Carroll also highlighted £30.3m listed as “unallocated commercial investments”, some of which he said would go towards renewable energy schemes.

Councillor Carroll said: “Along with external grants that we are already in the process of bidding for, we will be making case-by-case applications which we have already started to do for carbon reduction schemes.

“The first one, as we know, will be the solar photovoltaic (PV) array in Oswestry at Maesbury Road.

“There will be other ones coming down the line – hopefully the Shrewsbury Weir hydro scheme, and, if we can get the buy-in from our partners, a hydrogen fuel production facility in Shrewsbury, battery storage facilities and other solar PV schemes.”

Councillor Lee Chapman, who is responsible for digital infrastructure, said he was “delighted” by the investment of £7.7 million in broadband improvements.

He said: “That sits alongside our ongoing work lobbying the government for more direct broadband investment in Shropshire.”

Council leader Peter Nutting added: “Making sure we have all got a decent internet connection is going to be more and more important in Shropshire, particularly in the rural communities, so we do need to keep cracking on with it and we are making good progress.”

Councillor Steve Davenport, who has responsibility for highways, said there was “a lot of work going on” around the proposed Shrewsbury North West Relief Road (NWRR) and Pant-Llanymynech bypass, as well as walking and cycling schemes throughout the county.

The capital programme shows £10m of funding in 21/22 and £39m in 22/23 towards the NWRR, which will come from a previously approved £54m government grant.

There is also £17.8m set aside to boost school capacity, including £5.2m towards the new primary school in the Bowbrook area of Shrewsbury and a £2m expansion of Meole Brace Secondary School.

An additional £1m is earmarked to provide extra classrooms and other works at schools including Whitchurch Infants, Whitchurch Juniors, Shifnal St Andrews and Meole Brace Primary.

Councillor Ed Potter, cabinet member for children’s services, said: “That’s a real positive, from my point of view, to see not only that we are investing in Shropshire in infrastructure but also investing in the future of Shropshire for young people, to provide the best education facilities we can across the county.”

Councillor Lezley Picton said it was also worth highlighting schemes that were not included in the programme, such as planned investments in swimming provision in Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, which she said would “come online in subsequent years”.

Leader Peter Nutting added: “It’s important to say that this report is just the fully approved schemes and there are a lot of other schemes that are in the background coming forward that might not have had the final tick in the box, but they are well advanced and are on the way.”

Of the total £150m capital programme for 21/22, £54m will come from government grants. The following year government grants are expected to cover £62m of the £115m total.

Further funds will come from money collected from developers under section 106 agreements and CIL, capital receipts from sale of council-owned assets, and other council pots.

The council will however need to borrow £48 million this year and £41 million next year to fund the remainder, and a report to cabinet by finance director James Walton warned the interest on any repayments would create an added pressure on the revenue budget.

Cabinet members unanimously approved the capital strategy, including the programme of projects for the next year.

The capital strategy also says additional projects worth a total of £215 million are in the pipeline, but are not included in the programme as they are yet to be fully approved by cabinet or full council.