Borough Life Autum 2006: Contents
The Leader Column
By Peter Smith
Leader, Wigan Council
Cleaner and greener…crime ‘n’ grime….the marketing gurus have had a field day with their snappy buzzwords and phrases.
But what it really boils down to is that councils are listening to what their residents tell them are the things that matter most of all.
We spend millions on schools and social services, but it’s through our environmental services that we really make a difference to people’s everyday lives.
That’s why we are investing heavily in picking up litter and improving the appearance of our streets and neighbourhoods. All the evidence shows that cleaner places are safer places.
Very few of us can say we’ve made a real difference to the lives of thousands of people. Former mayor Wilf Brogan, who died last month, was one of those rare individuals who did just that.
Brought up in an era when poverty was real and absolute, Wilf was passionate about the power of leisure and sport to transform lives.
The borough would be a poorer place today without this champion of Robin Park, Wigan Pier and our countryside. Long before it became fashionable, he backed the idea that Wigan could be a tourist destination
With courtesy to friends and opponents alike, he rose above the noise of everyday politics to become a true elder statesman.
Fans of the Latics and the Warriors will not mind me dwelling on the success of one of the founder members of the Northern Union in 1895.
For a life long Leigh rugby fan, the sight of the Centurions coming from behind to win the Northern Rail Cup in Blackpool was one for sore eyes. When we see them taking the field for the first time at Leigh Sports Village, the cup will truly be running over.
The notion that councils are remote, bureaucratic organisations is one that regrettably seems all too common. In Wigan we’re investing a lot of thought and money in becoming more accessible.
We’ve overhauled our complaints procedures, invested in more communications and are looking to devolve more power to the townships.
Councillors – the people you vote for – really can make a difference. Whatever their party they are there to help and champion their constituents. Contact yours if you’ve a problem.
Apply for a school online
Parents whose children will be moving from primary to secondary school or starting primary school in September next year will soon be able to apply for a place online...
Respect for our town centres
Town centres across the borough are set to become more enjoyable places for shoppers and visitors as part of an ambitious council blueprint for better environmental services...
Gloria’s artistic gift
Between midnight and the sun’s first light is a special time for Gloria Boardman. For most it’s a twilight zone where the smallest sound and movement take on an eerie resonance...
Business booms for borough
Wigan Council is trying to develop a strong, modern local economy. Why? Because the long-term future of the borough and its people depends on it...
Food for thought, food for fun
Remember Jamie’s School Dinners, the brilliant Channel 4 series in which self-styled ‘cockney geezer’ Oliver campaigned to bring ‘pukka tucker’ to school menus?
Leisure for free
IT’S going to be a birthday bash to beat all others. In fact when Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust (WLCT) throws open the doors of its facilities to everyone in the borough it’s going to be...
Operation Facelift
Wigan Council is stepping up its fight against crime and grime, with some of the borough’s largest housing areas in line for a special ‘facelift’ over the coming months...
Dancing in the streets
WHEN Lisa Morris decided to throw a bit of a surprise for her sister Lindsay’s birthday, little did she realise what she was about to start in her native Tyldesley...
Baby sleep safety
IT has to be every new parent’s worst nightmare. The spectre of sudden unexplained infant death, or cot death, is one that sadly haunts our borough like any other...
Support for cancer patients
TWO years ago Adele Wilkes received the news that every woman must dread. Diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of just 36, the mother of two from Bryn was left reeling...
Council services: have your say
Remote, bureaucratic, unresponsive… local government is often called all these things. And, if we’re really honest, with some justification at times...
A picture of success
Wigan photographers are the best in Britain – and that’s official! Wigan 10 Foto Club has just won the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain top club award for the second year running.
When noise annoys
It’s 3am on a Sunday morning. For the past three hours there’s been a constant thump! thump! thump! coming through the wall from the neighbour’s house...
How your money is spent
Can somebody please tell me what we pay our council tax for?” demanded the letter in the local paper. The appeal, in response to a rare missed bin collection, is understandable...
Turnpike Gallery
TAKE one of Britain’s most distinguished contemporary painters and one of the borough’s most successful poets…add Leigh’s very own critically acclaimed exhibition space and what do you get?
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Regulars
Other Articles
- Are you being served?
- Be ‘sure at your door’
- Buildings for the future
- Dale’s on the right track
- Do young people get the press they deserve?
- Hunt is on for borough’s sporting heroes
- Just the ticket
- Making sure you feel the benefit
- Making Tracks
- Schools review underway
- Sport is… making the difference
- Tackling domestic violence
- Whelan’s Honour