Greater Manchester Mayor pledges to return to Wigan centre after opening new building for trainees

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham officially opened the new facility during a visit to The Hamlet in Ashton.

He cut the ribbon at the cabin, enjoyed a song performed by trainees and was given a short tour of the centre, where people aged 19 to 25 with special educational needs and/or disabilities can learn new skills and build their confidence.

Work on the new building would have cost £120,000 in total, but was funded using £58,000 in grants, donations from the community and through the support of local businesses, who gave materials and labour to the project.

It will be used to deliver sessions for the Duke of Edinburgh Award, by the community and for storage, while there are also plans to open a florist there.

Gemma Crompton, head of provision, thanked everyone who helped to create the new facility, particularly Ste “Rhino” Hughes who worked on it.

She said: “It’s heart-warming how the community has come together to make a difference for our trainees.”

She also hopes to invite Mr Burnham back to The Hamlet soon.

"It was a pleasure to welcome Andy to The Hamlet and it meant a lot to us that we had his support,” she said.

"He was so touched and he said this visit didn’t do it justice and he wanted to come back again. He said he will come on a non-official visit because he wants to see more of what we do.”