Three of the issues were related to areas of land one at the junction of City Road and Montrose Avenue. This land is for the major part private land for which the Council has no responsibility and for which we cannot spend Council Tax payer's money to maintain.

The land has been visited by the Environmental; Services (Public Health) at my request who are monitoring the situation. One of the issues involved here is people illegally fly-tipping on the site. This is one of the most anti-social activities affecting society today and I would ask anyone who has any information regarding this illegal activity to contact me on 01942 736242.

We have ourselves in the past taken part in litter picking the area with a local environmental group. We have had the owner contacted by the Legal Property Department with a view to develop the site, this matter is ongoing.

The pub car park is again private land as is the land to the rear of the shops. We have, in the past, litter picked the area ourselves on a number of occasions. This should be the responsibility of the landowners not the Council.

There are litter bins in the area which people should use, but it seems easier for people to throw litter on the floor for someone else to pick up.

The cost each year in picking up after those who dump rubbish on our streets runs in to hundreds of thousands of pounds funding which could be far better spend in other areas. It is time that we all worked together to address this issue, it is a joint responsibility of both Council and communities together.

The writer goes on to say: not to forget about Kitt Green. Since becoming the elected members for the Pemberton Ward four years ago, I will list just some of things we have been able to achieve in Kitt Green: we have funded gating schemes in the following areas: Mayfield Road, Mayfield Crescent and Dean Crescent.

We have funded two pedestrian crossings, one on Bell Lane and one of City Road, with a new pelican crossing to go in place at the junction of City Road and Lock Street in the near future. On Latham Lane we have been able to provide disabled access, dropped curbs and a new footpath at the junction of Latham Lane and Spring Road to give safe access for pedestrians.

On Spring Road, we have provided a vehicle activated road sign as part of a road safety scheme, which included pedestrian islands and pedestrian barriers. On the footpath between Spring Road and Wardlow Avenue, we have been able to provide three new street lights at a cost of £8,000.

We have invested considerable resources in planting trees, shrubs and flowers, as well as providing fencing in several areas. We have also over the last three years been able to provide from our Brighter Borough funding Christmas hampers for the elderly, spending in the region of £6,000 across the ward on this activity, which included Kitt Green. We have also undertaken skip clearance in the area.

Regarding the comment on vehicles, illegally parked on the footpath on Bell Lane, if there are parking restrictions in place (double yellow lines, then that is a matter for our parking wardens.
If there are no parking restrictions in place, obstruction of the footpath should be reported to the police for them to enforce the relevant laws regarding obstruction .

We do agree that the area would benefit from more planting schemes to brighten it up and we will undertake to do that as soon as we are able.
Councillors Paul Prescott,
and Jeanette Prescott,
Pemberton Ward.

Why all roads lead
to Manchester ...
It's 25 years since I worked in Manchester and travelled every day from Wigan to Piccadilly by car.
This week I had to visit Hope Hospital for an early appointment and again tangled with the rush hour traffic on the M61 and East Lancs Road. Yes, I thought I can see why they want to introduce congestion charging.

After the appointment I thought I would see what had changed in the centre and spend a few hours looking round. What a change, a thriving place, the pavements paved with gold. Everywhere you look prosperity abounds. Now I understood why everybody piles into Manchester in the morning. That's where the jobs are.

But suppose those jobs were in Wigan, Bolton, Rochdale, Oldham, or Bury, there would be no need to travel to work and no need for congestion charges and think of the impact on carbon footprints.
Don't be silly I said to myself they've already thought of that. Now I understand the reason why so many flats have been built in those towns.
It's to accommodate the workers for the new jobs that are going to be transferred from Manchester and the congestion charge is a deterrent to help people to make the change.
Ian Wadsworth

The way forward for our town
I noted Richard Bean's article on the state of Haigh Hall in the Wigan Observer (July 15).
For quite some time I have been of the view that the majority of the senior officers of the council have little interest in the town.

By comparison I believe that the elected councillors, several of whom I know, are dedicated to improving Wigan. However, the structure of the organisation is such that their ability to influence events is limited.
For example the expensive township structure was introduced so as to give the public a non political contact rather than an elected councillor.

For my money the elected councillor, with adequate back up, is a much more appropriate contact than someone who may not even live in the area.
If the elected councillors were to take up the running of the town with a different breed of officers being subservient to them I am sure that 10 years down the line Wigan would be a better place to live and work.
Name and address
supplied

Majority have no right to complain
Labour's predictable by-election win in Wigan West was achieved with the support of just eight per cent of the electorate.
I hope the 80 per cent who couldn't be bothered to vote will not complain when congestion charging is introduced, council/fuel and car tax are increased, more power is given to the EU and Labours' policies of unlimited mass immigration and profligate spending and borrowing create rampant inflation, mass unemployment and an economic recession.
Just how bad does it have to get before the apathetic majority are prepared to vote?
K Jones,
address supplied.