Borough Life Winter 2006: Who cares? We care!
The town centre caretakers at Leigh with Craig Lowe, far right.
Craig Lowe, 21, has just swapped troubled Sierra Leone for the streets of Wigan and Leigh as one of the council’s new town centre caretakers.
Originally from St Helens, he was an operator mechanic with the Royal Navy and jokes that he hopes his radar is just as tuned in to improve our local street scene.
“I want to give something back to the community,” said Craig. “And it’s great when we all pull together. This week, an old guy came to help us pick up litter. He wanted to do his bit. That felt good.”
The new caretakers are relishing the challenges working as troubleshooters in Leigh and Wigan. And there’s also been a special team working in other local communities, where residents’ surveys have make it clear what their top issues are.
For instance, while over 70 per cent of Higher Ince residents are happy with their street cleanliness, in Lower Ince that figure drops to just under 50 per cent. The team is pledging to improve those figures. Many residents said that joy riding, youths on the streets and speeding were their top worries.
Environment cabinet member Cllr David Molyneux said: “I’m pleased the teams have the backing of residents. But everyone needs to do their bit. I hope that as people’s respect for their community increases, misconduct on the streets will go down.”
Litter wardens have also blitzed Leigh and Wigan. Easily identifiable with their smart uniforms labelled “Litter Warden”, the officers stopped over 40 people on two dates this autumn.
As well as the £50 fixed penalty notices, a letter has been sent to the parents of a 14 year old youth for littering. Litter education work in schools has been stepped up.