Latest news with #WiganCouncil
BBC News
10-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Wigan 'toxic' waste fire forces children to miss school
A "toxic" waste fire which had been burning for more than a week has forced nearby businesses to close and children to miss several days of school, an MP has said. A major incident has been declared after the blaze broke out on Bolton House Road in Bickershaw, Wigan, which firefighters finally put out earlier after 10 days. Labour MP for Makerfield Josh Simons said the fire, thought to have started with illegally-dumped waste, "never should have happened" and that he had been asking for assistance from the Environment Agency to clear the waste site for months. The Environment Agency has been contacted for comment. In a letter written to Environment Secretary Steve Reed, Simons said children at the nearby Bickershaw CofE Primary had missed "multiple days at school" because of the fire and that United Utilites was dealing with "toxic water run off". "In this fire, the people I represent are suffering again because their voices have not been heard and their warnings have fallen through the cracks between agencies," Simons Council said the school had since re-opened. The authority said it had declared a major incident on Tuesday because of how long the fire had been burning and the resources it required. The authority said it was working with the Environment Agency to look into alleged illegal dumping at the site. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Yahoo
"I'm p***ed off": MP rages after 'illegal' waste dump erupts into huge blaze
An MP has said he is 'p***ed off' in a ranting social media video after an 'illegal' pile of waste erupted into a huge blaze in Wigan on Tuesday evening (July 1). Residents were told to keep their windows and doors closed due to the amount of smoke covering the area, after the fire broke out involving a 'large amount of waste' on Bolton House Road in the Bickershaw area. Fire crews raced to the scene to tackle the blaze throughout the evening, with a clean up operation and investigation now underway. READ MORE: "Sometimes I want to shout move!": Life next to yellow box junction raking in thousands in fines READ MORE: 'My son made one silly mistake and paid with his life - this is my plea' Never miss a story with the MEN's daily Catch Up newsletter - get it in your inbox by signing up here MP for Makerfield, Josh Simons, said he chaired an emergency meeting with police, the fire service and local council following the fire on Wednesday (July 2) as he issued an update on his social media platform. After the fire broke out, he also issued a 'furious' statement about the fire, which he said involved an 'illegal waste dump', which he has been claiming was a 'risk' to the public for some time. "I want to update you about a few things, because I'm as p***ed off as you are," he said in a video on Facebook. "I've been flagging it for months and I've been asking for timelines and not always got them. Here's what's going to happen next. "First, I have asked Wigan Council and the Environment Agency for a specific timeline and a detailed plan about how and when they are going to remove the waste from the site. They have assured me that's possible, there is no legal barrier, all they need to do is develop a plan and make sure they can find the money. "Second, I've been assured by the Environment Agency and the police that there is an ongoing, live, criminal investigation. I have asked for what details of that investigation I can share with you to show the progress they have been making." He continued: "I am p***ed off that this has happened. You are too. And we are going to get answers." Greater Manchester Police said the cause of the fire is unknown and that officers are awaiting further information. --- Day in day out, our reporters in the Manchester Evening News newsroom bring you remarkable stories from all aspects of Mancunian life. However, with the pace of life these days, the frenetic news agenda and social media algorithms, you might not be getting a chance to read it. That's why every week our Features and Perspectives editor Rob Williams brings you Unmissable, highlighting the best of what we do - bringing it to you directly from us. Make sure you don't miss out, and see what else we have to offer, by clicking here and signing up for MEN Daily News. And be sure to join our politics writer Jo Timan every Sunday for his essential commentary on what matters most to you in Greater Manchester each week in our newsletter Due North. You can also sign up for that here. You can also get all your favourite content from the Manchester Evening News on WhatsApp. Click here to see everything we offer, including everything from breaking news to Coronation Street. If you prefer reading our stories on your phone, consider downloading the Manchester Evening News app here, and our news desk will make sure every time an essential story breaks, you'll be the first to hear about it. And finally, if there is a story you think our journalists should be looking into, we want to hear from you. Email us on newsdesk@ or give us a ring on 0161 211 2920.
ITV News
20-06-2025
- Business
- ITV News
'Gutted': MP Josh Simons promises to help Wigan NEG plant workers after closure announcement
An MP says he is "gutted" hundreds of workers will lose their jobs after the largest fibre glass factory in the UK announced its closure - but has promised to help wherever possible. More than 250 jobs will be lost when the NEG Nippon Electric Glass Fibre Works (EGFU) closes its doors for the final time at the end of June. The future of the site, based at Hindley Green near Wigan, has been in doubt since April, when NEG announced they were looking for a buyer to take over their UK branch. Josh Simons, Labour's MP for Makerfield admitted it will be "a difficult few weeks" for those involved. "It is gutting for Hindley Greeners," he said. "Its going to be a difficult few days and few weeks, and I know that there are families right across my constituency who are struggling mentally and even financially with what's going to happen next. "And I just want them to know that I'm here, my office is here, the council's here, the college is here, and we will all be there tonight and several times over the next few days and weeks to support them." The closure was confirmed at a Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday 18 June, where the company's president Akira Kishimoto announced it would "cease operations" of their UK subsidiary. The President confirmed the site will "stop its production in late June". Mr Simons has been involved in ongoing negotiations over recent months to try and keep the factory alive, with his frustration with owners Nippon clear. "I can't tell you how many times over the last three months we thought we'd got a deal over the line," he said. "It looks like every condition's been met and I've been expecting a call from the UK CEO or from Japan saying the deals over the line, its going to be OK and then something changes, there's a new condition somewhere. "And what's happened over the last two weeks in particular is two deals have fallen through that were viable, commercial deals, that the government expressed its support for, the mayor of Greater Manchester expressed his support for, I've expressed support for, but then Nippon changed the terms. "And I just don't have confidence any longer that Nippon is serious about doing a deal." The MP held a special meeting for workers and their families at the site at which groups from across the local area and the city region came together to explore what opportunities there may be for staff in the future. He returned early from Parliament to join the group aimed at bringing the 'whole borough' together to help the workers and their families. The Grove Company, which recently helped redundant Thomas Cooks staff, was just one of the attendees, alongside Wigan Council support staff, and Wigan and Leigh College to discuss retraining and education opportunities. "The evening was full of mixed emotions," Mr Simons said. "I wanted to be there to show workers they're not alone and to let them know the support that's available from Wigan Council, Wigan and Leigh College, DWP, and the Growth Company, as well as Work Well. "I know things are going to be hard, but this is a community that will pull together, and we'll make sure that everyone gets what they need. "My support for the workers continues and in the coming weeks I will be hosting a jobs fair. The fight now begins for a new, positive future for this site and the Hindley community and I will work tireless to make this happen." He added it was not just about immediate actions, but also about relaunching former NEG staff in the future, and said a job fair will also be held in around a month so those who were made redundant get opportunities for retraining and potentially a new job if they want them. Mr Simons says that negotiators met all the conditions that were imposed by Nippon, but that "the goal posts were moved again and again and again". But his hope for the future remains undimmed, and together with the union and other partners across the town and the city region, he says he is determined to find a viable future for the site, and for the people who lost their jobs, and their families: "We're still at the early stages of planning what's going to come next," he said. "But I think the workers on the plant, the GMB who I've been working really closely with know this by now, I'm not going to let this slip, this is not going to just drift off into something that takes 5, 10, 15 years to resolve. "Nippon have decided to close the plant, we now need to make sure these workers get a good deal, and a good package from Nippon, and then we need to start work straight away on what the future of this plant looks like."
New Statesman
12-06-2025
- Business
- New Statesman
How AI could transform Wigan
Image: Nick Beer/Shutterstock Atificial Intelligence is often used as a shorthand for the future of our economy. But to say we want a future shaped by AI says little about what that future looks like. AI is a tool, a way of generating answers to questions from massive quantities of data. An AI-powered future is a future that uses data to achieve things we care about. What those things are is up to us. Beyond Whitehall, there is little serious grappling with what this future should look like for places like Wigan. As the Member of Parliament for Makerfield and the leader of Wigan Council, we have been thinking carefully about how AI can be harnessed to give working people in our area a better future. While it's a work-in-progress, we wanted to share it, because it will matter for leaders across the country in the coming years. The government's approach is centred around AI Growth Zones. These are effectively energy-intensive data centres, which are important for the future of AI in the UK but do not, in themselves, generate good jobs or productivity growth in local areas. Data processing is not like coal mining: there is no relationship between the people who do it and the physical place the processing happens. We must be clear that AI will not herald a return of place-based industrial capitalism. To actually harness AI to generate growth and employment in a local area, we must be much more granular and specific. It starts by looking at the real-world businesses that generate data and could use it better to drive efficiencies and productivity. In Wigan, we have UK-wide strengths in sports, food manufacturing and other process manufacturing that is generally high-volume and low-margin. For instance, Heinz has one of the largest food factories in Europe in Wigan, producing three million tins of beans a day, and the largest wet-wipe factory in Europe is in the Makerfield constituency. Local business Uncle Joe's Mint Balls has grown from selling sweets at a Wigan market stall in 1898 to being exported across the world today. It is a particular favourite in Japan. These factories work on fine margins, producing hundreds of thousands of cheap outputs. On a daily basis, they generate millions of datapoints. Unlocking that data, using it to make improvements in the process of packaging, or bringing products to market faster and more cheaply, can be transformative to the productivity and profitability of these companies, and in turn, the wages and work of local people. Or take sport. Wigan Warriors, which is owned by the New Statesman's owner, Mike Danson, has been one of the best rugby league teams in the world for most of the game's history, and this season, Wigan Athletic and Wigan Warriors women's teams have been almost undefeated. Each game generates hundreds of datapoints about each player, team tactics, fan attendance and spending, and a host of other pieces of information that clubs can use to professionalise and secure their finances. Wigan can lead the way in this kind of analysis. AI is a tool. How you decide to use that tool, and how an area develops distinctive expertise in improving and deploying AI, will depend on that area's existing strengths. For us in Wigan, it's not about building cutting-edge large language models or generative AI, it is about potential for global businesses building and doing things in the physical world to use data and AI to drive up productivity and boost our economy. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Local authorities can make a real difference here. They must collect, store and process data much more effectively to understand how best to serve their populations and inform better decisions. To make preventative healthcare a reality, target financial assistance or educational programmes, or get people back to work, Wigan is working to improve how it gathers and processes data. A more data-driven council can be a more community-led council, more tailored to the needs of specific, hyper-local places and people. This approach has seen success in London, where the London Office for Technology and Innovation has pooled data from a variety of boroughs to give better data sets, to intervene on issues from community health to tackling widespread mould problems. This summer, we will launch Scale Space North – an AI and digital innovation hub working with Wigan Council's digital partner, Agilisys. Wigan's Civic Centre has been repurposed to act as a catalyst for local start-ups and new business propositions. Such partnerships and digital innovation are vital for the public sector to radically transform to meet community needs and to create skills and jobs for the future. Wigan powered Britain's industrial revolution. Mining, for example, was hard, physical work, but it gave people jobs, skills and, importantly, purpose. Wigan helped Britain win wars, become the world's wealthiest nation and to protect our country from threats. Despite its promise, the internet revolution has provided little for northern towns like Wigan. Our public realm has been battered, while too many people, from kids to pensioners, have retreated into the addictive haze of social media and fragmented digital worlds. People are angry, and they are right to be. Levelling up did not provide what our towns really need: a huge boost of productivity, capital investment and real attention to the potentials and the problems of specific places, from the ground up. The job of people like us is to ensure the AI and data revolution actually benefits working people. Often, this won't always be shiny or glamorous, it will be about understanding the distinctive strengths of an area, and how they can be built on to generate, store and analyse data better, then integrate data-driven tools across businesses and public organisations. AI is neither a silver bullet nor a destructive disaster. It is a tool that should be part of the future we choose to build. It is we, the people, who give meaning to family, work and communities. The shape of our AI-powered future is up to us. Related
BBC News
01-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Golborne to get Greater Manchester's first new train station in 25 years
Plans to build Greater Manchester's first new train station for a quarter of a century have been approved for a town cut off from the railway network since £32m station in Golborne, near Wigan, was proposed by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) after a residents' campaign. Since trains stopped calling at Golborne 58 years ago, the town has been left without any direct transport links to and from Manchester. Wigan Council leader David Molyneux said the new station would make a "real difference" to people's lives. 'Campaigned tirelessly' When it opens, Golborne station will be a stop on an hourly service operating between Wigan and Stalybridge, via Manchester will also provide a link to the West Coast Main Line which runs from London to Glasgow via Crewe, Manchester, Preston and the Lake approved the bid after the government backed a business case put forward by TfGM, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Wigan Council.A Golborne-based engineering firm has been appointed to develop the final on the new station is expected to start in 2026, with the first trains due to call at it the following Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said it was "a significant moment" for the city region as well as for local residents who had "campaigned tirelessly". Leigh and Atherton MP Jo Platt said Golborne had been "waiting a long time for this".She said the station would "bring better connectivity, help to reduce congestion, and support local economic growth". Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
