Wigan mayor and councillors thank community volunteers for their efforts

A shake-up of council ward boundaries means the current Atherleigh ward will be replaced at the local elections in May by a new Atherton South and Lilford ward with different boundaries.

Atherleigh councillors John Harding and Debra Wailes have worked closely community groups for several years and wanted to show their appreciation for the work they have done.

So they organised for lead members of each group to attend an award ceremony at Wigan Town Hall in recognition of their hard work.

The volunteers met the Mayor of Wigan Coun Marie Morgan and her consort Coun Clive Morgan, were presented with their awards and enjoyed refreshments.

Coun Harding said: “It has been an honour and a pleasure to work with such diverse community groups over the past years and although following the boundary changes some of our groups will find themselves in new wards, others will be in the new Atherton South and Lilford ward and we hope that, following the local elections, we shall able to continue to work with those groups and support the creation of new ones.”

Coun Wailes said: “Working alongside the community groups in a hands-on capacity has been fun and a terrific learning experience for John and me. We have enjoyed every minute and we are proud to have supported the groups and our local communities with Brighter Borough funding too.”