Hope of revival for Wem town square project

Scrapped proposals to create a town square in a Shropshire town could bounce back in future despite the scheme losing £100,000 in essential funding, a meeting heard.

Shropshire Council leader Keith Barrow told a meeting of the full council at Shirehall on Thursday that the Wem town square project was not "dead in the water". Pauline Dee, Shropshire Council member for Wem, welcomed the news.

The scheme was earmarked for an area of the town's main car park and was to be funded from money set aside to benefit Wem after the former North Shropshire District Council sold off its housing stock.

The project is one of several across north Shropshire to lose its funding as Shirehall battles to keep costs down in the face of massive cutbacks being imposed by the Tory-led coalition government.

Other north Shropshire projects which lost their funding following the meeting included Ellesmere Market Hall, which lost £1 million, and £242,000 set aside for improvements to Prees Square.

Councillor Mandy Meakin, mayor of Wem, said she was "saddened".

At Wem Town Council's meeting on Thursday councillors said they were disappointed the unitary authority had withdrawn money which had been set aside to benefit north Shropshire from the days of the former district council.

They said the former North Shropshire District Council money had gone to support projects such as the £600,000 revamp of Market Drayton's market hall, but that Wem was missing out.

Meanwhile, councillors have called for a playground for grown-ups to be created in Wem under a £10 million national scheme to celebrate the Queen's diamond jubilee.

Councillor Nancy Wilson told the town council the authority should bid for a slice of funding set aside under the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge.

The scheme aims to create and protect 2012 playing fields and open spaces in communities nationwide.