Community spirit alive and well in Wigan

Over recent months volunteers in Ashton and Bryn have dedicated their time to improving their area every weekend.

Starting as a monthly community activity, it has now attracted more than 20 volunteers, all eager to help improve where they live.

Danny Fletcher, Ashton Labour candidate in the May local elections, started the Ashton and Bryn Volunteer Group during the early days of Covid-19, which initially involved food donations from the community but has since expanded into a number of other activities.

He said that over the past few months volunteers dedicated more than 30 hours of their time on activities such as litter picking, alleyway cleaning and weeding unadopted land.

Volunteers of the groups include childrens’ poet, Ray Douglas, retired teachers Frank Simpson and Mary Dyson, and Winstanley’s community activist, Kate Stafford. Each activity is monitored in conjunction with Covid guidelines.

Commenting on his increasingly popular group, Danny said he was ‘proud’ of how the community have come together over recent months.

He also said that community spirit in Ashton and Bryn is “amongst the best” in Wigan.

He said: “I’m so proud of how Ashton and Bryn community have come together over recent months, whether this has been food donations or more recently community activities such as cleaning unadopted alleyways and paths.

“It is so important that our great community spirit in Ashton and Bryn, which I believe is among the best in Wigan, is nurtured and advertised as an example of what strong communities can accomplish.

“This is just the beginning and I truly believe we can accomplish great things going forward.”

Anyone wishing to get involved or would like more information, should contact Danny by emailing [email protected].