Lowton East is about to go public.
In the run-up to Local Democracy Week (October 15 – 21) ward councillors have organised a public meeting designed to help residents find out more about the work of the council and other organisations in the borough.
The meeting is aimed mainly at residents living in the neighbourhood of Oaklands Road, Laburnum Road and Hesketh Meadow Lane.
Councillors Ian Franzen, Edward Houlton and Jonathan Miller will be on hand at Lowton Civic Hall, on Monday October 1, from 7pm onwards to share their views and discuss issues affecting the area.
They will be joined by officers from the council’s Environmental Services and Neighbourhoods teams along with representatives from Wigan and Leigh Housing, Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust, Greater Manchester Police and the Golborne and Lowton Township Forum.
Cllr Ian Franzen says:
“This is an opportunity for people from the area to come together to share and discuss issues about the neighbourhood, with representatives from different agencies. We support local resident’s groups and encourage people to join one or to form their own.
“In the spirit of Local Democracy Week we want people to tell us and the other representatives what their concerns are and in turn we’ll be telling them what can be done to address them.”
Local Democracy Week is an annual national event which aims to encourage more people, particularly young people, to find out more about the work of their council and elected members. It also encourages people to take an active role in the democratic process.
Wigan Council has fully signed up to the initiative and has organised a series of high-profile events during the week. These include Question Time-style debates, appointing a young person as ‘Mayor for the Day’ and an online I’m a Councillor Get Me Out of Here event.
Wigan Local Democracy Week organiser and council policy officer Simon Dale says:
“Local Democracy Week is all about people getting to know more about the council and the work of their councillors. Meetings like the one in Lowton are an ideal way for residents to get more involved in their communities and to use their voices to help bring about the changes they want to see.
“Of course we don’t want to encourage this for just one week a year but all year round which we are doing through such things as the local township forums.”
The Lowton East public meeting takes place at Lowton Civic Hall, Hesketh Meadow Lane, Lowton, from 7pm onwards on Monday, October 1 and everyone is welcome to attend.
