Borough Life Summer 2006: Contents
The Leader Column
By Peter Smith
Leader, Wigan Council
IF there's one part of our history that unites the borough, it's mining. From Standish to Astley, Hindley to Orrell, hardly a square mile was untouched by the influence of King Coal. In this Borough Life you can read about its surprising legacy at Wigan Flashes, where one of Britain's rarest birds is making a home in the lakes left by mining subsidence.
And just a few miles south along the Leeds-Liverpool canal, we are working with our partners to transform the site of Bickershaw colliery. Fourteen years after the wheels stopped turning, we have agreed a plan to ensure that Bickershaw will once again provide local jobs. Together with Leigh Sports Village this project will change the face of Leigh.
In every survey, you tell us that the local environment is your number one priority. Tackling "crime and grime" is where good councils can make a real difference. In the past our environmental services have been somewhat fragmented. For example, one council department dealt with picking up litter in the streets, another with cleaning open land and a third with prosecuting fly tippers.
Now we are creating one all-embracing department of environmental services to provide an efficient service dedicated to improving the borough's environment. We believe it will also provide better value for money for the council tax payer.
To finish tenth in the Premiership is a stunning achievement. But there's another set of figures that reveal an equally impressive aspect of Wigan Athletic's first season in the top flight.
200,000 extra visitors, £11 million of additional spending in the economy, hotel occupancy up by four per cent and positive media coverage worth over £700,000, with highlights including features on Al-Jazeera and Dutch RTV.
The reputation of an area has a massive influence on everything from tourism to jobs and inward investment. Wigan Council salutes Dave Whelan, Paul Jewell and their magnificent team of heroes. And to recognise the personal contribution of Mr Whelan to his home town, I look forward to him becoming a freeman of the borough.
Top accolade for call centre
According to the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) British contact centres are the best in the world. And in a world where you are three times more likely to have to ring...
Rare bird snapped at Flashes
For the borough’s large army of birdwatchers, it’s the Holy Grail... the first ever photographs of one of Britain’s rarest birds making its home in Wigan...
Pupils get new school preview
Platt Bridge Community First – that’s the chosen name for the borough’s first 'extended school' which is set to open in the autumn...
Independence Day – everyday
Most people treat the idea of change with caution. So when disabled people living in the south of the borough were told last year that the day services they relied on were to be...
Getting cleaner and greener
Borough Life readers are backing the council’s bid to see Wigan become a cleaner, greener borough. When we appealed in the spring for people to help us win a Britain in Bloom award..
Clampdown on anti-social crime
Wigan Council is out to cut anti-social behaviour down to size. Ambitious plans, developed with community safety partners like Greater Manchester Police...
New life for old colliery site
Almost fifteen years after the wheels turned for the last time, Bickershaw Colliery is again set to provide local jobs. Council chiefs say they are determined to ensure that a multi-million pound regeneration of the colliery site...
Townships special report
- Growing together
- Young people can play a part
- Saying a Big Thankyou to people who make a difference
- Heartfelt poem to take pride of place at cenotaph
- Jargon Buster
- Contact Information
- Atherton
- Tyldesley and Astley
- Bryn and Ashton
- Hindley and Abram
- Golborne and Lowton
- Leigh
- Orrell, Billinge and Winstanley
- Wigan North
- Wigan South
- Standish, Shevington and Aspull
Spotlight on Chief Executive
One year ago, Wigan Council’s first woman chief executive took over at the top. Joyce Redfearn came north from Gloucestershire, where she was widely credited with turning round a poorly performing county council...
Blueprint for better access
In our crowded world, an environment that doesn’t put obstacles in anyone’s way might seem like an impossible dream...
Art centre of national repute
Drumcroon may not look like one of the country’s most influential centres for art – but that’s precisely what this former doctor’s surgery in Wigan’s Parson’s Walk has become over the last 25 years.
Street bollards go green
A deal to bring ‘green’ traffic bollards to the borough has been struck between Wigan Council and a company from Lowton. Signature Ltd has signed up to supply eco-friendly...
Who’s your local hero?
His musings on land ownership became a blueprint for communism. There’s a plaque to his memory, but it’s in Moscow’s Red Square. So who’s the 17th century dreamer who...
What’s up duck?
Sunday In The park... by the lake a young family is getting ready to feed bread to the ducks. Our feathered friends swim in circles, punctuating the stillness with the quack of anticipation...
Summer sports camps
A Summer-long series of multi-sports camps for 8-14 year olds has been drawn up... but organisers are urging people to book now to avoid missing out...
Links marked with the Adobe Acrobat PDF logo require the free Adobe
Reader software.Festival Special[289kb]
Regulars
Other Articles
- Playin' Out for Summer
- Philippa leads compost crusade
- Eunice is fair play champion
- End of the road for Shakerley rat run
- POPP in, find out
- Dame Tanni opens new primary school
- Jane eyes centre court glory
- Mesnes attraction