Township Forums are the local element of Wigan Borough Partnership and contribute to the delivery of the Sustainable Community Strategy and Local Area Agreement
Wigan town is the administrative centre of Wigan Borough, and at a neighbourhood level there are two parts, both overlapping to include the town centre itself. Wigan North includes the communities of Beech Hill, Scholes, Whitley, Lower Ince, Swinley and Higher Ince. Wigan South includes: Goose Green, Marus Bridge, Worsley Hall, Newtown, Worsley Mesnes, Kitt Green, Norley Hall, Lamberhead, Pemberton, Marsh Green and Poolstock.
Wigan’s history dates back to Roman times, and there was a significant involvement in the English Civil Wars, with Oliver Cromwell passing through the town at least twice, although loyalties remained with the crown which led to the King awarding the town the motto of ‘Ancient and Loyal’. Modern history is inextricably linked to coal, success at rugby and football, and the Northern Soul music scene epitomised by Wigan’s famous Casino night club. Today’s town centre is in the UK’s top 100 retail destinations, with attractive modern arcades, public art and floral displays. Wigan and Leigh College attracts students from around the world and a revolution in public services is underway as the multi-million pound Wigan Life Centre, with library, gym and swimming pool, is nearing completion alongside the historic town hall building – once an international mining college.
Residents’ and tenants’ groups in the township have worked with the council on cleaner, greener, safer initiatives to improve the local quality of life for all.
Some of the first new council houses in the region have been built in 2010 in Scholes, replacing unpopular maisonette blocks, and nearby several million pounds of development is bringing 52 new ‘green’ homes to the area. A new school – Canon Sharples – was opened a few years ago and access from the old Whelley loop line, a former railway now a path and cycle way encourages walking to school along one of the key routes linking parts of the borough’s Greenheart country park.
A local satellite Life Centre, bringing public services and advice right into the heart of communities, opened within Higher Ince’s community centre in 2010.
Wigan has two train stations – including one on the West Coast main line – and both are part of a £1.2m renovation heritage project for the Wallgate area.
There is an MP for the town of Wigan and three ward members from each of the wards of Wigan Central, Wigan West, Ince and part of Aspull New Springs and Whelley.
Township Newsletter: Updated August 2011
Find out more about what's happening in your township (.pdf, 332KB)
Wigan North Health Profile
Wigan North Area Profile
To see how Wigan North 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. Wigan North's specific performance can be seen in more depth from the Township Key Indicator Spine Chart (.pdf, 9kb). Wigan North'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-annual 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, as well as other geographies.
