THE chairman of Wem Civic Society says the town needs to 'stand up and take action' over green corridors in the town.

Shelagh Richardson says the plan of building green corridors needs to be taken seriously, with the civic society working in conjunction with Wem Town Council's Climate Change Forum to take action.

According to plans, these corridors would help allow the movement of people across areas not possible without the use of cars, provide recreational features so that people do not need to drive to other locations and would attract people to the town.

Green corridors, linking Wem Rural, Wem Urban, and Wem Moss, were first proposed by the now defunct North Shropshire District Council (NSDC) in 2006, but Shelagh says plans failed to materialise.

"We want green corridors in the town," said Shelagh. "In 2006 NSDC drew up plans for green corridors, but never did anything about them."

She says that Wem is losing its trees to developers, and other reasons, and adds that green spaces do more than just help the environment.

"It's a case of all hands to the pump. If you don't take care of the natural environment, how can you take care of the urban?" she adds.

"We need to do something. One of those things is planting more trees in the town.

"There are already plenty of trees, but these are large, mature trees. They get removed for building and in weather like we have had recently, they can be quite dangerous.

"Wem is becoming suburbanised as mature trees, for various reasons, are felled but not replaced – it is looking less like a market town – decreasing its attractiveness to visitors and residents.

"The latest research shows that access to green areas is beneficial to mental health and they also help cool towns. You see this in China, where they have started building 'green cities', with skyscrapers covered in plants."

Although Wem Civic Society are running their climate change concerns separate to the town council, Shelagh says there is no 'bad blood' between the two groups and that the aim is actually to get as many people as possible involved.

"There is no dissatisfaction with the town council," added Shelagh. "We all want as many people as possible in Wem to care about climate change.

"We're not pushing against the town council, they're doing a great job. But we've got a shared interest, we're just here to help.

"We at the Civic Society are a very odd society. We care about the natural environment as well as the built.

"About a year ago we had a plan for a climate group. The town council have a community driven one but this is separate.

"We're alive to the fact we need to do something. Our town is best placed to do something – everyone here knows each other so we can crack on.

"It's got to be done from the ground up though, there are lots of things that can be done in Wem.

"The problem is it's a complex topic, and that puts a lot of people off."

Wem Civic Society will meet on Tuesday to discuss the issue, with Councillor Chris Mellings of Shropshire Council and Wem Town Council leading the discussion.

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 18 at 7.30pm at Wem Senior Club in Chapel Street.