Levelling Up, Lionesses and park success

Levelling Up, Lionesses and park success

I would like to start with the European Champion Lionesses this week and congratulate the squad for inspiring an entire nation.

We are incredibly proud to have been part of the tournament and, as mentioned in my previous column, with our role in contributing to a historical event that will prove to be a key point in our sporting history.

A special mention must be reserved for Tyldesley’s Ella Toone for her spectacular goal in the final and for her performances throughout the tournament; congratulations Ella, the entire borough is proud of you.

I would also like to pass on further congratulations to Keely Hodgkinson who won a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games 800m.

I know that Keely had her heart set on gold, but we are all incredibly proud of her amazing achievement.

Last week saw our three bids submitted to the national Levelling Up Fund, including one for Leigh town centre.

We firmly believe we are moving in the right direction with our three strong, exciting and achievable proposals.

The schemes for Leigh town centre include major refurbishment to Leigh’s indoor market along with exciting projects for the Civic Square and the wider town centre.

It is important to note that LUF submissions require bidders to meet strict requirements and our trio of bids find the right balance between ambition and achievability.

In other news, I’m pleased to say that Pennington Hall Park has once again been awarded prestigious Green Flag status – for the 14th year in a row.

A green flag flying high is an international mark of quality which demonstrates that a green space is well managed and well kept.

To earn this recognition once again is testament to the hard work of our dedicated teams of staff and volunteers, who help to keep our parks and green spaces looking so brilliant for residents and visitors to enjoy.

We know how valued our green spaces are and how getting out and about can positively contribute to our wellbeing.

The summer holidays are well and truly underway and with that, so are our holiday activity and food (HAF) programmes for children on benefits-related free school meals.

Children across Leigh and the wider borough are enjoying lots of fun activities and friendship over the summer months - from dance and drama to sport and art.

We were pleased to welcome a representative from the Department for Education recently to see some of the amazing work going on within our programmes.

HAF 2022 is a vital programme and I’m proud of our teams who are working hard to deliver it for our young people.

Finally, it looks like we’re in for another bout of glorious weather so enjoy and stay hydrated!