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New Play Area Damaged at Lilford Park – A
Joint Appeal for Respect
Wigan Council has joined forces with Wigan
Leisure and Culture Trust (WLCT) and the police, to appeal for local
people to unite and show their respect for Lilford Park.
The appeal follows the destruction of a new play area over the weekend.
It is believed that a fire caused over £3,000 worth of damage to the
play equipment. The play area was installed at a cost of £110,000 less
than twelve months ago.
The damage has completely destroyed all of the children’s cradle swings;
an accessible swing for children with disabilities; a tunnel slide; the
area’s rubber surfacing; and the surrounding fencing.
Pete Gascoigne, WLCT’s Executive Director for Policy and Regeneration,
said, “It is very disappointing that this equipment has been damaged,
this is not the first time it has happened since its installation. This
kind of incident has a negative impact on young children’s enjoyment of
the park and we, with our partners, will review the security of the area
and take the appropriate steps to try and stop it happening again.”
“The actions of a few are destroying other people’s enjoyment of the
park and so we would urge the sensible majority to help encourage more
respect for the park’s facilities. We want Lilford to be a park for the
people, but we cannot afford any repeat incidents.”
Andrew Sharrock, Wigan Council’s Township Manager for Leigh, said, “We
have been working hard in Leigh to encourage greater community cohesion.
Through schemes such as the Leigh Neighbours Project we are offering
young people to channel their energies in a positive way. It is
extremely frustrating that the regeneration of areas such as Lilford
Park can be hampered by the selfish actions of a few people. The
community must unite to discourage this kind of anti-social behaviour
and to show greater respect for one of Leigh’s gems – Lilford Park.”
Steve Wilkinson, Township Inspector, Greater Manchester Police, said,
“The Neighbourhood Police Team has been trying to engage young people
who use the park so all users of the park can use this wonderful
facility in harmony. We will be doing our utmost to try and identify the
few individuals responsible for this damage and deal with them
appropriately. I would encourage anyone with any information about this
incident to contact Greater Manchester Police 0161 872 5050, or call
Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555111.”
-ends-
NOTES TO EDITORS: For further information on this News Release please
contact Chris Dunbar, Public Relations Manager, 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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