Disappointed to hear that Wigan Council hasn't selected Atherton for the Town Centre Challenge initiative, but thank you to Stuart Gerrard and all at Atherton Residents' Association for their hard work in making the case.
Reading Wigan Council’s report, it appears to suggest that Atherton hasn’t been picked because it requires too much intervention to be successful. Does that mean that our town centre is now being passed over for regeneration and investment because Wigan Council has abandoned it for so long that now, fixing it, would be too much of a challenge for them?
We have a lovely town centre but it has been long neglected by the local authority and this decision underlines this. I won’t let Atherton be resigned to the scrap heap. If Atherton’s Labour councillors allow this to go ahead, especially after all the promises we have had, how can local residents ever trust the again?