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Thousands of people across Wigan Borough took advantage of a host of
free leisure activities provided by Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust over
the weekend of September 9th and 10th. Over 3,000 people signed up to
‘get active’ by taking part in over 60 timetabled activities hosted by
WLCT at a range of facilities including sports centres, libraries, parks
and heritage sites.
The weekend was designed to encourage more people across the borough to
get physically, mentally and creatively active and marked the second
anniversary of WLCT’s Getting Wigan Active campaign. Activities included
everything from swimming to history workshops and featured gym sessions,
archery, health walks, storytelling, libraries in the park, tours of
Haigh Hall as well as visits to the Way We Were, Astley Colliery and the
Turnpike Gallery.
The highlight of the weekend saw around 500 people attend a joyous
‘Proms in the Park’ event at Pennington Hall Park, Leigh. Residents of
all ages united to enjoy music, fireworks and family fun in an event
held jointly with Leigh Township Forum. Similarly, Wigan Borough’s
challenge to read Roald Dahl’s ‘Matilda’ was a complete success.
Hundreds of people including Wigan Libraries’ patron Stuart Maconie,
Andy Burnham MP and pupils at Hawkley Hall High School, helped to read
the book from front to back on Friday 8th September.
Rodney Hill, Chief Executive of Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust, says,
“We are pleased that so many people took advantage of the free weekend
and had an opportunity to sample our wide range of services for free. We
are particularly pleased that the majority of our outdoor activities
were completely booked – this shows that there is a real thirst for
leisure and cultural activities across the Borough. I hope more people
in our Borough will use more of their leisure time to enjoy a healthy
and rewarding lifestyle.”
People of all ages from across the borough have been increasingly
‘getting active’ since Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust was formed in
2003:
• library usage has increased by 11%
• swimming amongst children is up by 46%
• over 650 play sessions per year are delivered by the Trust
• attendance at WLCT-organised arts events has more than doubled to
68,000.
For further information about Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust’s services
and facilities residents can call 01942 828508 or see
www.wlct.org.
-ends-
NOTES TO EDITORS: For further information on this News Release please
contact Chris Dunbar, Public Relations Officer, Wigan Leisure and
Culture Trust on 01942 486937 or at
c.dunbar@wlct.org.
Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust: Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust is a
charitable trust working on behalf of Wigan Council to manage and
support leisure and cultural facilities, initiatives and events for over
300,000 residents in the Wigan Borough. See
www.wlct.org.
Getting Wigan Active: Getting Wigan Active is Wigan Leisure and Culture
Trust’s vision to ensure that people across the Wigan Borough have the
opportunity to become more physically, mentally and creatively active.
It also aims to increase community activity and to encourage good
citizenship.
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