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September Update
Dear All,
During the last few weeks, I have had several meetings with Andy
Burnham, the Developers and the Principals who guide the LSV
development. In spite of having a young family and his recent
elevation to the Cabinet, our local MP continues to support the
LSV project to the hilt and still declares it his No. 1 priority
for Leigh. There is no edge to this man - he just has an honest
dedication to the task in hand.
As we get closer to the various hand-overs obviously tensions
arise and delays, both foreseeable and otherwise, can tend to
shorten tempers and worry participants, but we are getting
closer to the actual reality of using the Village and as
outsiders now begin to see the potential of this huge project,
they are overwhelmed by the scale and quality of what is being
provided. Leigh East 's pavilion is being snagged as we speak
and should be taken into use very shortly. We are now down to
the hand-over bits like fire and burglar alarms, telephones and
connecting power to the floodlights.
What is really exciting is the thought of a new cohort of
students starting at the brand new sixth form College on Monday.
When you walk round this three-storey building, with all its
different faculties, you realise what a real headache it has
been for the College authorities to get this ready for use. All
of us hope that this fantastic facility will spur on successions
of students over the next few years into developing as human
beings and contributing to society. It is very encouraging to
know that the numbers applying for courses at the College this
year are at a record high. Although the project is called Leigh
Sports Village, the new College has always been at the centre of
our aspirations. This is a genuine investment in the future of
our citizens.
It looks like the sports hall and swimming pool might be delayed
even further and I think there is going to be some announcement
about this within the next fortnight.
Halls Construction who are building our new, superb stadium are
in the process of knocking the old College down. The stadium
itself is virtually on programme, but the pitch is somewhat
behind because of the bad weather.
The 135 bed 4* hotel looks like it will commence construction
within the next fortnight and hopefully it will be ready for
occupation at the same time as the stadium is ready , i.e. May,
2008. It is of some comfort to the organisers that hard-headed
marketing and businessmen feel that it is commercially
appropriate to build this facility in Leigh and perhaps is a
really strong indication of the actual regeneration of our town.
Very recently I facilitated a tour by our twin town Angers in
France and we were all mightily impressed by the facilities that
Leigh Harriers will occupy in the very near future. It is a real
boost to realise that your local athletics club could be playing
its part on both the national and international stage in the
next few years.
Now to the negative stuff! We have had a combination of
incursions onto the site by quad bikes, 4 x 4s, motorbikes,
etc., together with people using the fields for impromptu
barbecues and setting fires and digging holes, etc. Parents
should be aware that the LSV building site is a very dangerous
place to allow their children to play. Everyone on the site,
particularly the police and security will be trying to exclude
trespassers. It was only a couple of weeks ago that three local
men in their 20s were arrested after swift work by the local
police and the GMP helicopter. A big thanks to our vigilant
residents who called the police. We have had the off- road unit
from GMP serving notices on the bikes that have been used on the
site and if they are used again they will be seized and crushed.
Consistent antisocial behaviour will, as anywhere else in the
Borough, not be tolerated and Wigan and Leigh Homes have been
working with the team to ensure that parents are fully aware of
the risks that they take in condoning this behaviour.
This week, we have had a visit from the head of Sport England
North West where we laid out our fervent ambitions to ensure
that Wigan and Leigh's first class sporting facilities will be
available for visiting Olympians and Paralympians for the 2012
Olympics. It would be nice to think that our facilities will be
in the big red book that is handed over to the International
Olympic Commission next July in Beijing.
It is your Village -please look after it and more importantly,
please use it.
Trevor Barton
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