Plans to start charging for road closures will be the "nail in the coffin" for some of the county's popular events, opposition councillors have claimed.

Shropshire Council wants to introduce fees for commercial events requesting temporary traffic regulation orders (TTROs), in order to recoup some of the staffing costs incurred in processing them.

The council believes it could make £25,000 a year from the charges, which would aim to recover costs of officers' time spent actioning the orders.

At a meeting on Wednesday, March 22, the authority's cabinet agreed to put the proposals out for public consultation.

The council has previously offered this service for free but now says it is "reasonable and appropriate" to introduce charges – which many other councils already have.

There was also criticism from Labour group leader Julia Buckley, who said: "I understand why you might want to recoup some costs but I don't understand why that leads you to generate £25,000 income to fill out what is presumably a hole in your budget.

"I am worried that you are doing that at the cost of our thriving local economy."

Councillor Buckley said the plans were in conflict with council policies including the overarching Shropshire Plan and tourism strategy, which aim to encourage more events to boost visitor numbers.

She said: "I phoned some organisers this morning to ask them how they feel about your proposals. One very large events company described this as the nail in the coffin."

The move comes after initial proposals were withdrawn earlier this year over concerns at the inclusion of potential charges for Remembrance Sunday events.

Speaking at the meeting, Councillor Richard Marshall, portfolio holder for highways, said charges would only be applied to "profit-generating organisations".

Under the new scheme commercial organisations would be charged £145 for events with fewer than 500 people, £740 for those with between 500 and 1,000, and £1,480 for those with more than 1,000 people.

Events organised by film companies would attract a fee of £740.

The council will however have discretion to "levy an appropriate charge that more accurately reflects the anticipated level of disruption and officers' time spent".

Following the consultation, the final proposals will come back before cabinet for final approval.