The people of Shrewsbury are being asked to support a campaign to name one of the traffic roundabouts on the town’s bypass after a leading caravan and motorhome dealership.

The Emstrey roundabout, which is located adjacent to Salop Leisure’s impressive headquarters, is in the process of being redesigned. To help better identify the roundabout, chairman Tony Bywater wants local people, visitors and the media to refer to it as the ‘Salop Leisure roundabout’.

The company is seeking public support for its campaign, which is being promoted on social media channels Facebook and Twitter.

The next traffic roundabout along the bypass, which is located adjacent to Dobbies Garden World, is known locally and referred to by the media as the ‘Dobbies roundabout’.

Salop Leisure already sponsors the Weeping Cross roundabout as part of its support for the Shrewsbury in Bloom campaign.

“We think that people can identify the location of the roundabout better by naming it after a prominent landmark,” he said. “Some of the biggest changes that have ever been made to roundabouts on the bypass are now in progress, so it’s the perfect time to consider our offer.

“We take great pride in our premises and the surrounding area, as we cut the roadside grass verge outside our entrance and try to keep it clear of litter. The company also sponsors Shrewsbury in Bloom and Tidy Shrewsbury Group and we have a tourism information point within our premises.

“Salop Leisure’s building is a great landmark for tourists and visitors to Shrewsbury and we feel it would be very beneficial for tourism in our town if the roundabout were named after the company. We also host a tourist information point within our building.

“Hopefully, the people of Shrewsbury, visitors and the media will agree and support our campaign.”

Mr Bywater has also joined MP Daniel Kawczynski in calling on the Highways Agency to extend the designation of the M54 from Telford to Shrewsbury to put Shropshire’s county town on the UK motorway map.

Currently the dual carriageway continues to Shrewsbury when the M54 ends at Telford although the road then becomes the A5. The road surface and speed limits are exactly the same and the road is effectively motorway standard all the way to the Shrewsbury bypass.

“It would be of great benefit to Shrewsbury’s businesses to say that the town is connected to the national motorway network,” said Mr Bywater. “Major roadworks are underway at roundabouts on Shrewsbury bypass to improve traffic flow and I think the M54 extension should be implemented at the same time.”

The Government has said that the Highways Agency is carrying out a “robust cost/benefit analysis” to evaluate the benefits of reclassifying the section of the A5 to Shrewsbury as a motorway. 

For more information, please contact Mr Tony Bywater, Salop Leisure’s chairman, on 01743 282400.