Countryside chiefs are today being accused of focusing on headline grabbing projects like the Leigh Sports Village or the replacement Wigan pool while attractions like Borsdane Wood in Hindley are suffering.

The charge comes from Independent Coun Jim Ellis – who uses the wood to walk his dog – but says he is becoming increasingly alarmed at what he is now finding.

He is now inviting the chief executive of the Wigan Leisure and Culture
Trust Rodney Hill to tour it with him to see the problems first hand.
Borsdane, which is noted for rare birdlife, is now designated as a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) along with an ancient semi-natural woodland. But Coun Ellis claims:

A tree bordering a path collapsed, narrowly missing a group of walkers.

Ramblers have had to use house bricks to create their own stepping stones under the railway bridge to beat the mud and "frequent floods" because of blocked drains.

The path on the other side of the tunnel has collapsed because of blocked gulleys.

Drainage ditches have partially collapsed and weirs are now collapsed.

A large number of trees and saplings have been flattened, some now lying in Borsdane Brook, damning the water and eroding the banks.

A tractor tyre has been blocking another part of the stream "for weeks and weeks."

He said: "I am shocked. What was once one of the real jewels in the crown has now been allowed to fall into a state of apparent neglect and dilapidation.

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