More of Wigan's district centres set to be brightened up through flagship project

A council scheme which sees the borough’s district centres spruced up through environmental efforts is moving into its next phase.
By Matt Pennington
Published 24th Mar 2023, 12:30 BST
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Over the previous two years, the Our Town programme has seen council teams armed with jet washers, paint brushes and litter picking equipment strive to create cleaner, greener places for residents to enjoy.

With a futher £600k investment from Wigan Council in addition to the borough’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocation, even more places are set to benefit with this years schedule.

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Coun Dane Anderton, lead member for district centres and night time economy, said: “I am delighted to announce Our Town 3, which will see a further investment in our district centres.

The further investment will allow for even more places within the borough to benefit.The further investment will allow for even more places within the borough to benefit.
The further investment will allow for even more places within the borough to benefit.

“The most recent Our Town two works had a strong visual impact on the 13 district centres and were delivered by the Streetscene, Network Management and In Bloom teams.

“Across the three Our Town projects, well over £1m will have been spent to deliver real improvements to townships across our borough.”

The Our Town initiative was born out of the largest consultation exercise that the borough has ever seen, the Big Listening Project, during which residents, communities and businesses across the borough shared their views.

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Across the two Our Town projects so far, works delivered with thousands of hours of staff time have included:

Over 80 tonnes of litter, fly-tipping and debris has been removed since it has begun.Over 80 tonnes of litter, fly-tipping and debris has been removed since it has begun.
Over 80 tonnes of litter, fly-tipping and debris has been removed since it has begun.
  • 18,000m sq of jet washing
  • Over 270 new bins installed
  • 41 “grot spots” cleaned
  • Over 80 tonnes of litter, fly-tipping and debris removed
  • Engagement with over 1,400 businesses
  • 62 miles of roads and footways swept
  • 312 lighting columns painted to prolong their life

Cound Anderton said: “This project may seem like lots of little pieces of work such as line painting, tackling grot spots, replacing old bins and benches, sweeping the footway and more.

“But it is a great example of how lots of little actions all come together to create something bigger than the sum of their parts. The teams cover a huge amount of ground, with all of these little improvements coming together to boost civic pride right across our borough.

“We know how much people care about their area and their community - that was loud and clear from the Big Listening Project - and the Our Town work helps to ensure they continue to be places we can all be proud of together.

“I’m really pleased to announce that the Our Town three programme will build on this success and is launching in April 2023.”

Our Town one started in May 2021 and visited the townships of Hindley, Golborne, Ince, Orrell, Aspull, Lowton, Standish, Pemberton, Ashton, Atherton, Platt Bridge and Tyldesley.

Our Town two then followed in 2022, with improvement works carried out in Bryn, Douglas, Atherleigh, Astley / Mosley Common, Wigan West, Wigan Central, Leigh East, Leigh West, Shevington, Hindley Green, Worsley Mesnes, Winstanley, and Leigh South.

Related topics:WiganWigan Council