Township Forums are the local element of Wigan Borough Partnership and contribute to the delivery of the Sustainable Community Strategy and Local Area Agreement.
With its two recently built shopping centres, a flagship state-of-the-art sports centre opened in 2009 by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh and the nationally important wildlife habitat of Pennington Flash Country Park, Leigh is a major player in the borough.
Plans to bring a cinema back to the town after a gap of a quarter of a century, with accompanying modern canalside restaurants, were realised in 2011. This continues the regeneration of the town where former mills still dominate the skyline and which gave the world the industrialised might of the Spinning Jenny.
Today leisure activities such as golf, birdwatching and sailing at Pennington Flash, or fun on new children’s play areas at Pennington Hall Park or Lilford Park, are enjoyed by visitors as well as locals. A modern campus, part of Wigan and Leigh College, sits alongside the hotel and facilities of the Sports Village.
The Turnpike Centre in the centre of Leigh is home to one of the borough’s best libraries, as well a noted art gallery which hosts regular exhibitions and displays. The Turnpike, on the town’s civic square, is flanked by the attractive Parish Church on one side, and the historic town hall on the other – which now includes a modern Life Centre with access to local public services in the heart of the town. The square is the venue for a spectacular fireworks display and fayre each year as the Christmas lights are switched on.
In 2010, some of the first brand new council housing in the northwest region was been built just off St Helens Road by the town centre, continuing the regeneration of the town.
Leigh has a population of over 43,000 people and returns an MP to Westminster and three ward councillors each represent the constituencies of Leigh East, Leigh South, Leigh West and Atherleigh (shared with Atherton).
Township Newsletter: Updated August 2011
Leigh Health Profile
Leigh Area Profile
To see how Leigh compares to the other nine Townships, see the Township Key Indicator Index (.pdf, 26kb), which ranks all ten Townships according to a range of key indicators. Leigh's specific performance can be seen in more depth from the Township Key Indicator Spine Chart (.pdf, 9kb). Leigh's Key Indicator Profile Report (external link) contains the actual figures for each of the Key Indicators contained in the Index and Spine Chart.
Place Survey
The Place Survey is a bi-anuual national survey undertaken by every local authority in the country. It asks residents about many different issues including how they feel about their local area, the services they receive and about local issues such as anti-social behaviour, litter and transport. A Place Survey Presentation (.pdf, 38kb) highlighting local findings has been created for each of Wigan's ten Townships.
WISDOM
For more statistics and information on this and other Townships, WISDOM (Wigan's Information System of Dynamic Online Maps) provides you with easy access to local statistics and intelligence about each of the 10 Townships in the borough.
