It’s half term and parents all across Wigan Borough are bracing themselves. But help is at hand because agencies across the borough are once again coming together to lay on a range of arts, crafts, leisure and sport in a bid to divert young people into positive activities. Read more »

The site of Etherstone Hall in Leigh is set to become an archaeological site in March as part of a Greater Manchester wide initiative to get people involved in their communities. Get in touch for your chance to dig in! Read more »

It was built nearly two centuries ago – but it’s just won the council’s top design prize: the Haigh Windmill has been voted the overall winner of the council’s annual awards by a panel of experts. Read more »

Some Wigan’s best-known people are set to have their names immortalised in stone as part of the borough’s very own Walk of Fame. To celebrate the launch of Wigan Council’s exciting new public services hub – the Wigan Life Centre – on Monday 20 February, a trio of famous Wiganers who have excelled in the [...] Read more »

How should Wigan Council spend your money? That’s the big question from both council leaders and officers who want your views on this year’s council budget. Read more »

Friday 10 February is fuel poverty awareness day for 2012. It’s a national campaign which aims to highlight the help available to people living in a cold or damp home. Wigan Council and partners are helping local people to manage their fuel payments. Read more »

Wigan Council has set a target of creating 100 new apprenticeship posts for young people in our borough over the next 100 days. The move is part of a national initiative promoted jointly by Job Centre Plus and the National Apprenticeship Service and will see the partners working with local businesses and employers to encourage [...] Read more »

Working with Greater Manchester Police and HM Revenue & Customs, officers from Wigan Council Trading Standards recently carried out raids on retail premises and private houses in Leigh, Hindley, Wigan and Ince, seizing a range of fake products and illict alcohol and tobacco. Read more »

Wigan Council officer Damian Jenkinson has been nominated for the BBC’s Young Gardener of the Year. Viewers this Sunday evening (BBC3 8pm 12th February) will see the council’s Borough in Bloom co-ordinator – as well as several hundred other budding horticulturalists – judged by a team of hardy experts. Read more »

Wigan’s state-of-the-art new public services ‘hub’ is proving to be a big-hit with the public. In the first week of opening alone, more than 1,500 people came through the doors and benefited from the vast array of services on offer. Read more »

It’s time to get your skates on and head down to Wigan town centre! An impressive 18 sq m ice rink will soon be open for everyone to use on the new piazza at the front of the new Wigan Life Centre. Read more »

Wigan Council has secured the future of its two outdoor education centres in the Lake District thanks to an exciting new partnership with a national charity. At its meeting on Thursday January 26 members of Wigan Council’s Cabinet decided to enter into an agreement with the Brathay Trust which means the twin centres of Low [...] Read more »

Council engineers plan to open up Sovereign Road, opposite the Lidl supermarket on Darlington Street. This will allow traffic coming into town from Lower Ince to bypass the busy crossroads at a new priority give-way junction. This then makes the existing crossroads more efficient for all other traffic Read more »

Bedford High School has restored an important piece of local history: a brass plaque commemorating over a hundred young men from what was then Leigh Boys’ Grammar School who fought and died for their country in two world wars. Read more »

Wigan Council is working with construction firm Redrow to bring affordable homes to the borough. The first show house on the College Court development in Newtown – on the site of the old St Thomas More High School – will be opened on Saturday 28 January Read more »

Council tax chiefs who are urging residents not to be taken in by companies that claim they can recoup hundreds of pounds in overpaid council tax. It follows reports that some residents are handing over a substantial amount of money in ‘administration fees’. Read more »

Three youths have been prosecuted for breaching a Section 30 Dispersal Order in the Borsdane area of Hindley. The group, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were recently asked to leave the precinct as part of measures to reduce antisocial behaviour, but when they refused police arrested them. Read more »

Council leaders are to consider a plan for the two Lakeland outdoor education centres that could secure their future for the borough’s schoolchildren for years to come. Read more »

Many libraries will be operating differently as the borough’s library service budget has been reduced by £1.1m as a result of government cuts this year. The new look library service has achieved this by reducing some opening hours in certain locations, relocating services and by maximising stock and staff rotation across libraries. Read more »

This year’s annual Holocaust Memorial Day will encourage residents in Wigan and Leigh to “Speak Up and Speak Out” to create a safer and better future! Wigan and Leigh will unite on Friday 27 January to remember those killed in the Holocaust and other genocides. Read more »

The miners strike of 1984 and the legacy of the mining industry is the focus of a new exhibition at the Turnpike Gallery, Leigh. Face is a specially commissioned documentary, archive and audio-visual exhibition by Paula Keenan, Lesley Sutton and Dave Meehan which opens this weekend. Read more »

While some retailers are pleased with sales over the Christmas period, many families could well be dreading the bills coming through the letterbox now that we’re into January. But help is at hand from your local credit union who can offer straightforward advice on personal finance and, if needed, affordable credit to their members. Read more »

Wigan Council’s ruling cabinet has announced plans to boost access to the town centre at weekends with proposals for a number of car parking sites. Read more »

Wigan Council has made annual savings of £200,000 following a strict programme of energy management. And many of the fuel saving efficiencies can be used at home to cut your own fuel bills. Read more »

Wigan is one of the safest places to live – and it’s getting safer every year. Together with the police, housing, fire, health services and other partners, here’s how Wigan Council helped to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in our communities during 2011…. Read more »