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Parks, green spaces, play areas, flashes,
open spaces, playing fields – whatever you want to call them they are
all yours, and we need your help to love them, respect them and show
pride in them.
Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust, Wigan Council, Greater Manchester
Police, the Leigh Reporter and the Wigan Reporter have all teamed up to
launch a campaign that they hope will make you realise just how valuable
the borough’s parks are.
Wigan Borough is the greenest borough of all the ten authorities in
Greater Manchester – two thirds of the local area is made up of
countryside and open spaces. There are 18 major parks across Wigan
Borough, 104 play areas and hundreds of recreational spaces and playing
fields.
The borough is also blessed with the beautiful Haigh Hall and Country
Park, and the wonderful natural gems that are Pennington Flash, the
Three Sisters Recreation Area and Orrell Water Park.
These vast green spaces are perfect for all generations to enjoy the
great outdoors together; to play, to participate in sport, to witness
live events, or just to relax. Latest visitor numbers show that your
parks are very popular. Over 1.3 million people visited Mesnes Park,
Wigan in 2006 and over 800,000 people visited Pennington Flash in the
same period. However, the fun of the many is sometimes spoiled by the
selfishness of the few.
In the last financial year, Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust’s various
maintenance teams spent over £200,000 repairing play areas and park
facilities that had been damaged through vandalism and anti-social
behaviour. The vandalism ranges from play areas being set on fire, such
as high profile incidents in Lilford Park, Leigh and Norley Hall
Adventure Playground in Wigan, to offences such as littering, dog
fouling and nuisance behaviour.
The time has come to take a stand and everyone can play their part. That
is the message from Rodney Hill, Chief Executive of Wigan Leisure and
Culture Trust, who said: “We want people to take advantage of the
opportunities we have in our parks, but we also need public support to
take a stand against the mindless minority who are from all age groups
and backgrounds and who can spoil the enjoyment of the majority of
people.
”As well as causing costly repairs, vandalism also threatens the future
development of our parks and play areas. I know first hand how
passionate people are about parks and play areas - but we can only get
the best facilities if we protect and cherish what we already have. The
borough’s parks are yours to enjoy - so get out there and take advantage
of what’s offer and help us to take a stand those how do not share our
pride in your parks.”
Council Leader, Lord Peter Smith said: "Our parks are a great community
asset. We want to see them used and enjoyed by residents of all ages,
and we're not prepared to sit back and let the vandals take over. The
council, police and leisure trust are working hard to make places like
Lilford Park safer and more attractive for families - but we do need the
public's support. We all have to work together to make this happen and I
welcome this campaign."
In tandem with the Pride in Your Parks campaign, Greater Manchester
Police are launching ‘Operation Challenge’ in partnership with other key
agencies to address anti-social behaviour. High visibility police
patrols will be deployed in identified ‘hotspot’ areas, some of which
will be in the borough’s parks.
Inspector Glenn Jones, Area Inspector for Wigan, said: "We will continue
to deal firmly with anyone involved in criminal damage, vandalism or
anti-social behaviour around the borough's parks.
"All these activities affect the quality of life for local residents,
and we will do all we can to tackle the problem. I would also urge
members of the public with information to come forward and help us
identify people involved in illegal activity around parks and open
spaces."
Anyone who witnesses any vandalism or other criminal activity in a park
or play area, can report it to Greater Manchester Police on 0161
8725050. Minor damage should be reported to Wigan Leisure and Culture
Trust on 01942 776612 for parks, or 01942 875648 for play areas.
Throughout the summer there are various fun activities planned across
the borough’s parks ranging from brass bands to sports activities and
nature walks. To find out more about these events or for more general
information about parks pick up an events leaflet from your local
library, visit
www.wlct.org/parks , or call 01942 488550.
For information about Haigh Hall and Country Park call 01942 832895, for
Pennington Flash 605253, or for the Three Sisters Recreation Area call
01942 720453.
-ends-
NOTES TO EDITORS: For further information on this press release please
contact Chris Dunbar, Media and Public Relations Manager, 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 help people across the Wigan Borough to become more
physically, mentally and creatively active. It also aims to increase
community activity and to encourage good citizenship.
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Lilford Park, Leigh: (l to r) - Lord
Peter Smith (Leader of Wigan Council), kneeling - Kevin Walker (Parks
Regeneration Officer), Anne Cockram (Parks Community Liaison Officer),
Harry Dyer (Park Ranger), Alan Brown (Play Development Officer) and PCSO
Anthony Coyne. |