Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Environment Agency on its plans to meet Shropshire Council representatives to discuss the proposed Shrewsbury North West Relief Road.

The Environment Agency, as a statutory consultee, has been involved in conversations with Shropshire Council and its representatives for at least three years. The Environment Agency has also engaged comprehensively through its pre-application service to advise on the appropriate level of environmental assessment required to help enable the Council to make an informed decision. It has offered detailed advice on several critical matters that could affect both the project and the town of Shrewsbury. These include protection of the water resource aquifer used by Severn Trent Water to provide water supply, potential flood risk impact and storage compensation, and potential impact on existing biodiversity (including recommendations for net gain to be included). This engagement is ongoing as confirmed in the recent conversations between the hon. Member, Shropshire Council officials and Environment Agency staff.