|
|
|
03/11/09. Work is proceeding on two sites in Ashton to provide improved playground facilities for local children. Drainage work is underway at Jubilee Park prior to the installation of new playground equipment, and a new playground is being installed near the lake at the Three Sisters Recreation Area, scheduled for completion by January next.
03/11/09. A group of local young people dedicated to raising money for good causes are presenting performances of the pantomime, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" on the 26th, 28th and 29th November, at Stubshaw Cross Labour Club, St Thomas's Church and Old Road Labour Club. Kidz 4 Kidz have previously staged events such as talent competitions and fun days, and the proceeds from their latest venture will go to Children in Need and the NSPCC. The group was founded by Jilly McKiernan, who has penned her own take of the classic fairytale, with friends Kate Illingworth, Gen Mills, Catherine Liddy and Tom Loughlin as star performers.
20/10/09. Last week at the Jubilee Park Residents' Group meeting it was announced that funding has finally been found for a skateboard facility on the park. Young people are to be consulted on the installations that can be achieved with the available funding, and the skatepark is expected to be finished by the end of next March.
26/08/09. Next month children's drama classes are to start at Captain's Lane Centre. Two professional actors, Natalie Grady and Andrew Blake, from the Feste Drama School, are starting classes for children 4-7, 8-11 and 12-16 on Sunday afternoons. They have experience of stage, film, TV and radio, and have led workshops in London and the North of England. They currently teach classes for Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust.
18/08/09. Young people are using Aldi car park as an unofficial skatepark, causing annoyance to local residents. However, because of political opposition and unsuccessful bids by the Council plans for a skatepark in Jubilee Park dating back over five years have never come to fruition, despite the support of local councillor Nigel Ash.
06/08/09. Residents' groups at Stubshaw Cross have once again presented a range of summer activities for local children.
05/08/09. Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust have presented a number of events for children over the summer holidays. Today local children were encouraged to participate in play activities at Haigh Hall to promote active living, including a bouncy castle and slide, building an assault course, and sports activities.
17/04/09. Julian Sorfleet has added to recent voluntary work to create more youth initiatives in Ashton by extending the idea to a Wigan Young People's Organisation, working alongside Wigan Youth Services and Greater Manchester Police, initially intended to cater for young people aged 13-19 throughout Wigan.
The new organisation, which has its own website, aims to help provide the young people with the ability to take part in community-led events and activities, and to demonstrate the positive impact young people can have in the community. It seeks to help them learn new skills, provide youth clubs/cafes to help reduce antisocial behaviour, and support young people in identifying and achieving realistic goals. WYPO also aims to raise awareness of issues affecting youth, from alcohol and drug awareness to personal wellbeing.
At present the service is run by four volunteers, and more volunteers are invited to allow WYPO to extend its services to children aged 6 to 12 and involve local schools in each area.
24/03/09. Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority is extending its school bus scheme in Wigan. From April pupils at Cansfield High Specialist Language College will have their own yellow bus service, taking the total number of services in Greater Manchester to 38.
12/03/09. A voluntary initiative to cater for local youth is meeting with success. Julian Sorfleet of Stubshaw Cross has set up a youth club on Monday evenings at Ashton Town Football Club in Edge Green Street. Further information can be obtained from their website.
02/12/08. Local plans have now been announced for "Building Schools for the Future", which are set to net Wigan over £280m to improve secondary education in the Borough. If the plans are accepted by the government, next April will see the start of extensive borough-wide consultation. In December 2009 the Council will make a decision on the plans, and work on the Borough's secondary schools will start in 2011. A transformed Byrchall/Cansfield school is planned to open in September 2013.
18/11/08. Plans for the modernisation of secondary education in the Borough are indicating that Byrchall and Cansfield schools could become a single new school.
11/11/08. Cllr Susan Loudon, lead member for Education on Wigan Council's Cabinet, spoke to members of Ashton and Bryn Labour Party branches on proposed changes to local secondary education. Government funding was being channelled into reorganised school facilities nationally. With a significant proportion of St Helens children being taught in Ashton schools, and forthcoming changes to St Helens' education system, local intakes were under threat and will result in a need to review the local secondary education system.
21/10/08. Once again the Friends of Three Sisters are assisting the rangers in staging a Hallowe'en Evening for local children. Rangers accompany groups of children round part of the country park to view suitably ghoulish sights. The event has been staged over the past few years and is very popular, being booked up weeks in advance.
16/10/08. Young people from Stubshaw Cross held an inaugural meeting tonight to form the Stubshaw Cross Youth Committee. The group has been formed with the assistance of RARETARA - a Stubshaw Cross community association - and plans to organise projects for local youths.
22/08/08. Winstanley College has gained the second highest A Level results in the country, with a pass rate of 99.7%. The leading college was Hills Road at Cambridge.
Ashton Town Football Club and Stubshaw Cross Residents' Association are running a Football Fun-day at the Edge Green Street ground on Saturday 2nd August.The doors are open from 9am and there will be :
- Junior football coaching from 10am (with a 9.30am registration).
- Bouncy castle on site from 10.30 until 5pm.
- Face painting during the day
- Raffle
- 12.30pm kick for a pre-season friendly on the main pitch with our Reserves against Holyhead Hotspurs Reserves
- At half time penalty shoot out (for under 11's)
- 3.00pm kick for a pre-season friendly on the main pitch with our 1st team against Holyhead Hotspurs FC
- At half time penalty shoot out (for under 12's).
25/06/08. As part of a long-standing co-operative project students from Wazalendo Secondary School in Tanzania visited Byrchall High School to experience life in a different country.
10/06/08. Wigan Council's outdoor education team is running a programme of canalside activities throughout the summer. Anyone aged 11 to 21 can take part in the free scheme, with those under 16 requiring a parental consent form. More than 30 supervised sessions are scheduled and places can be booked on 769812..
04/06/08. Young people aged 16 to 25 are invited to the launch of a volunteering project at Wigan Flashes on Saturday, 7th June from 10.00 to 17.00. The vinvolved team are hosting a range of events, including barbacue, canoeing, a climbing wall, sailing and parachute games. For further details visit www.vinspired.org.uk.
01/06/08. Ashton Town Football Club are offering four free coaching sessions over the Summer holidays for all youngsters aged 6-12, after which players will be selected for their new junior teams. The club has now entered into the Wigan & District Youth League with a team entered at under 8's, under 9's, under 10's (all mini soccer) as well as under 11's and under 12's (9-a-side leagues). Home matches will be played at St.Wilfrid's School on Sunday mornings starting in September for the forthcoming 2008/09 season, and all home matches will have access to the clubhouse for parking, toilets & refreshments.
| Coaching Sessions |
|---|
| Week 1 |
Saturday 26th July |
| Week 2 |
Saturday 2nd August |
| Week 3 |
Saturday 9th August |
| Week 4 |
Saturday 16th August |
(Under 8's, 9's & 10's registration in clubhouse at 9.30 for a 10am start)
(Under 11's & 12's registration in clubhouse 10.30 for a 11am start)
Children MUST be accompanied by an adult (parent/guardian) and are welcome to attend any or all of the above weeks.
07/02/08. The Multi Media Partnership and Wigan & Leisure Culture Trust Sports Development Unit are presenting Multi Sports Activity Days at venues in Ashton and Bryn next week - 11th to 15th February. The five day series of workshops include Football Commentary workshop on the Rock FM Bus; morning Football Skills sessions; afternoon Five-a-Side football competitions; and other multi sports activities: Rounders, Netball, and Kick Rounders. For the venues, see AiM.i. The week is sponsored by Ashton & Bryn Township Safety Group and the Youth Opportunities Fund.
11/01/08. Ashton young people have been active in producing a DVD to demonstrate positive things that local young people have been doing in the town. These include last year's fun day to raise money for the community, and a successful bid for funding to renovate the Jubilee Park pavilion to offer a place for young people to meet. Their group - Ashton Youth Action - meets each Tuesday evening at the NUPRO.
27/09/07. Ashton Town Football Club are through the FA Youth Cup 1st Qualifying Round with a 4-0 victory over Trafford at their Edge Green Street ground.
21/08/07. After several years' delay Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust are finally submitting a bid to the Coalfield Regeneration Fund for conversion of disused tennis courts in Jubilee Park to a skatepark and multi-use games area. Young people have been campaigning since 2004 for this facility and will be pleased to see progress finally being made.
29/07/07. Wigan Children and Young People's Services organised a popular Community Fun Day in Jubilee Park. Local groups presented information stalls, and the activities laid on included a climbing wall, face-painting and clown.
30/06/07. Young people 12 and upwards are invited to join summer activities organised by Ashton and Bryn Township Community Safety Group. Girls are offered an aerobics class at Byrchall High School on four Wednesdays commencing 18th July, while boys are invited to enter a 5-a-side football championship in Jubilee Park on Tuesdays commencing 17th July between 13.00 and 15.00. To book a place please email Andre Pilling or phone her on 404984.
23/02/07. Byrchall High School has been awarded Specialist School status in maths and computing. The award will result in increased staffing in specialist areas, high-class maths classrooms and a further increase in computing facilities.
11/02/07. The 1st Ashton-in-Makerfield Boys' Brigade is planning to celebrate a golden anniversary in 2010. Past members are invited to contact Philip Archer.
25/11/06. A consultation process is under way at Ashton Library regarding the proposed improvements to Jubilee Park. A Bryn ward councillor is reported to be continuing to solicit opposition to the Council's plans to extend the sports facilities in the park to include a multi-sports area, including a skatepark.
24/09/06. Jan Johnson, Extreme Sports Co-ordinator at Wigan MBC, is seeking public views on skate facilities in three Wigan parks. She is in attendance at Jubilee Park today between 13.30 and 14.30. Efforts to achieve a skatepark in Ashton have been running for several years, despite opposition from several local ward councillors.
30/07/06. Stubshaw Cross Residents Group in conjunction with the Strongtower project are again organising youth activities in Stubshaw Cross Park this summer. Aided by Paul Fenton, the residents' group are putting on a programme of activities on August 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 8th, 9th and 10th, between 13.00 and 15.00. This is the third year in succession that the residents' group has arranged events to involve young people during the summer.
14/06/06. Along with other changes, Wigan Council has integrated three youth departments into a single Children and Young Peoples Services (CYPS) Department. Wigan Education Department, Children's Social Services, and Positive Futures (The Connexions Service, Education Business Partnership, Youth Service and Education Welfare Service) have been combined, and serve all young people from 0 to 19. The priorities for the department and its principal partners are set out in the Children and Young People’s Plan 2006-2009 for Wigan Borough.
11/04/06. The youth group meeting three times weekly at Jubilee Park pavilion are taking on challenges outside the town. With the support of youth workers from Positive Futures, the group has hiked to the top of Rivington Pike, and is now planning a strenuous walk in Cumbria. They aim to raise funds for a residential team-building course this summer.
02/03/06. Chris Rigby, an Ashton student at Winstanley College, visited No. 10 Downing Street to meet PM Tony Blair after gaining an award for an essay on politics. A member of the Labour Party, 17 year old Chris won the national award in a competition organised by the House of Commons, and intends to follow a political career.
26/09/05. The charity event at the Presidential succeeded in raising £670 and the organisers, Hangman Records, plan to run a similar event on the last Friday in November.
16/09/05. Under an initiative sponsored by the Community Safety Group Wigan Athletic's "Football in the Community" is currently running football coaching sessions in Jubilee Parks every Thursday evening from 6.00pm to 8.00pm until 29th September. There is no charge, and no booking is required, but a parental consent form must be completed for under-16's.
14/09/05. A charity event called simply 'The Gig' will take place starting at 12:30 hrs on Sunday 25th September at The Presidential American Bar in Ashton.
10 top bands are scheduled to appear, including Toxic Lemon, Former Babies, Testosterone, Bingowings, The Randoms, The Ultras, The Hicks, Supamodel, and Riff Raff.
As well as the bands, there will be a free buffet, an open-mic slot for budding musicians to jam, and prize giveaways donated by local businesses including an acoustic guitar signed by all the bands performing. The entry fee is £3.00, with all proceeds going to male testicular cancer charity, Everyman. Enquiries to Ian Graham.
06/09/05. Despite a nasty campaign run by the Community Action Party to smear local young people as 'political stooges' Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust has approved the plans to seek funding for a skatepark in Jubilee Park. The project is intended as one element of a new initiative throughout the borough to "Get Wigan Active" - encouraging residents to participate in physical activity to improve health and fitness. The young people running the BTT website are to be congratulated on their successful campaign.
01/09/05. Responding to requests from young people, Wigan Council for Voluntary Youth Service is working with Wigan Pier Theatre Company to facilitate a thirteen-week project. Working with trained professionals, young people will have the opportunity to gain new skills and take part in a performance. The project begins on Thursday, 8th September at Penson Street from 17.30 to 19.00 and is aimed at young people aged 10 to 15. If this pilot is successful then the project will be extended to younger children. Contact Kelly on 825750 to book a free place.
20/08/05. In a message on the www.ballstotennis.tk website, Councillor Claire Daington threatens that if the young people do not give up their fight for the skatepark in Jubilee Park, CAP councillors will spend the £5,000 dedicated by Labour ex-councillor Nigel Ash elsewhere.
19/08/05. Tennis-mad CAP councillor Don Hodgkinson has offered Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust an interest-free loan for a £7,000 refurbishment of abandoned tennis courts in Jubilee Park. His aim is to create a junior tennis club in the town, but the Trust has turned down the offer in order to provide equitable options for leisure activities in the park.
19/08/05. Following revelations about his alleged spoof posting on www.ballstotennis.tk, Leader of the Community Action Party Peter Franzen is threatening to report the moderator of this website and the young people operating the Balls To Tennis website to the police. It has been made clear to the press that the Balls To Tennis website is completely independent of this or associated websites. Whether Councillor Franzen wishes to prosecute Ashton teenagers remains to be seen.
14/08/05. 'Community Action' Party councillors, upset by Ashton young people's independent thinking, are branding them as New Labour Fraudsters.
10/08/05. Local young people - frustrated by the attempts of CAP councillors to oppose skatepark facilities in Ashton's Jubilee Park - have started a campaigning website called Balls to Tennis.
28/06/05. Despite opposition from all six local Community Action Party councillors and Ashton Central Community Association, plans for a skatepark in Jubilee Park are finally to be submitted to Wigan MBC by Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust.
01/04/05. CAP councillors are subsidising tennis lessons in Jubilee Park to enhance use of the tennis courts.
03/06/04. Young people attended a meeting of the Ashton & Bryn Township Forum Skatepark Group
to discuss the design of the proposed skatepark and how best to liaise with local residents.
10/05/04. At the Annual General Meeting of Captain's Lane Youth and Community Centre the Management Committee agreed to participate in securing a skatepark for the town.
08/03/04. Ken Barston presented a report to the Ashton and Bryn Township Forum on the proposed satellite skatepark and said that Jubilee Park was the preferred location following work by the Youth Service and surveys of local residents carried out by the young people. The meeting agreed to support this by seven votes to four. Labour Councillor Nigel Ash said that he had asked for £5,000 to be retained in his Brighter Boroughs budget to support the project. Captain's Lane Youth and Community Centre would be asked to be the lead agency in securing grant funding for the skatepark.
15/12/03. Jan Johnson, Extreme Sports Co-ordinator, was invited to a meeting of the Ashton and Bryn Township Forum to discuss the proposal for a skateboarding facility in Alexander Park. Alternative sites - King George V Playing Fields, Bryn Rec and Captain's Lane Centre - were proposed, and she agreed to examine all these sites and report back.
Community Forum Reports
January 2004. Further youth activities have been arranged at Captain's Lane Youth and Community
Centre under the auspices of Kate Holland and Leena Ray.
June 2003. A youth group had received permission to use the pavilion in Jubilee Park on Wednesday
afternoons as part of Positive Futures.
March 2003. J Sudworth reported on a joint project between Captain's Lane Centre and local youth to
improve the area of land behind the Centre adjacent to Captain's Lane footpath.
13/12/01 Young people from Ashton met members of the Youth Service, Councillor Millington and a representative
from Captain's Lane Centre at Ashton Town Hall to discuss youth issues. Chaired by Laura Stokes, the meeting discussed youth needs,
and agreed to pursue the provision of a wheelie bin, possible siting of a shelter and seating on the Captain's
Lane site, and youth representation on Captain's Lane Management Committee. It was agreed that a further meeting
would be held in the New Year to determine progress.
September 2001. PC Atherton has arranged a disco for local young people to be held on 26th October
at the NUPRO.
June 2001. Wigan Youth Service have produced a leaflet outlining summer activities for Ashton
youngs people. Events are open to all young people of 11 and over (parental consent form needed), and cost is only 50p including food.
Further information from Jean on 776019.
Activities last from 19.00 to 21.00, and include a barbeque. Venues are as follows:
|
31st July |
Jubilee Park |
|
7th August |
Ashton Market |
|
14th August |
Stubshaw Cross Park |
|
21st August |
Bamfurlong |
June 2000. Ashton youngsters will be singing and dancing in Jubilee Park
at a music event to be held on Friday July 7th from 18.30 to 20.30. For further details,
contact Sharon Saunders from Wigan Youth Service on 828829.
February 2000. Detached youth workers are operating from
Captain's Lane Community Centre on three evenings a week, and a youth project is due to
start in April.
November 1999. The Chair reported that Captain's Lane Youth
and Community Centre continued in operation with the Ashton Early Years Playgroup, youth
band rehearsals and football. The youth activities programme funded by the National
Lottery Charities Board Grant had come to an end with the completion of the Grant, and
discussions were taking place regarding future use by local groups, organisations and
departments of the Wigan MBC.
April 1999. Plans are being developed for a Millennium
Snapshot competition, in which pupils from local schools would be invited to submit
photographs of the town for judging. Jack Sudworth is co-ordinating the project, and a
grant application is in hand.
October 1998. PC Harmer attended a Youth Link
Representative Training Day, promoting the work of youth forums and a co-ordinated
approach to youth work in Ashton.
August 1998. The Group heard details of the summer project
carried out at Captain's Lane Youth and Community Centre involving local youngsters.
July 1998. Some 70 young people took part in a Youth
Activity Week at the Three Sisters site. The event was supported by the local police.
|
Y
O
U
T
H
|
|
