Quote The WN5 Voice="The WN5 Voice"How so Squire? Health and safety regs have moved on a tad since then.
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It was a llama kept in a pen - not a grizzly bear sat on the swings.
It had chickens, ferretts, fluffy bunny rabbits and if I remember rightly a very small pony.
The town just hasn't been the same since.
Anyway, I'll humour you whilst there's nowt on telly.
FWIW, I agree about industrial decline, its not just Leigh, its every town in the UK. We all want someone to blame. Blame the Council, blame Maggie, blame the Unions, blame Paul Rowley. Anyone will do.
No, blame Ching Chong Chinaman and his kids who will work for a bowl of rice a day. That's where the problem lay.
It will change though as CCC suddenly decides he wants 3 holidays a year, a car, and a plasma telly, and shipping costs rise. It migt take a generation or so but it will happen. Think 19th century Britain, folk working down the pit for a pittance to keep the family in lobby. Thats where the far east is now but as the song goes, the times, they are a changing.
However, and this is what has constantly annoyed me over the years, Wigan MBC have shown very littlw proactivity whatsoever to reverse the decline and promote inward or sustainable investment in the town, but as I have said previously on this thread, 'we' still voted the same useless councillors in so we're partly to blame too.
Billions has been available for almost 20 years in regeneration grants from central government and the EU, but all worthwhile efforts from the Council in gaining it went into Wigan. This in turn attracted outside investment and before you know it Wigans on its feet again.
Thats what our Councillors need to do, get together with the local developers (the only people who have done anything in this town), local businesses and our MP, and generate a plan of our own that can be worked upon with the NWDA.
It will upset a few folk, but tough. The alternative is sitting back and carrying on feeling sorry for ourselves.