Wigan and Leigh Housing News Release

Monday 27th October 2003

419/2003

Open House

Mayor of Wigan Cllr Wilf Brogan declares Leigh Homes ‘Open for Business’

The former Leigh Magistrates Court will be officially unveiled as the new headquarters of Leigh Homes — the eastern division of Wigan & Leigh Housing — at a ceremony this Wednesday (29th October, 11.15am).

Magistrates last sat in judgement there in March 2001. Since then, Chapel Street’s famous landmark has been refurbished and adapted into modern offices for housing staff who moved in earlier this year. From the building, Leigh Homes co-ordinates services to customers in over 12,000 homes in Leigh, Golborne, Hindley, Atherton, Hag Fold, Platt Bridge and Tyldesley.

Mayor of Wigan, Councillor Wilfred Brogan, will perform the opening ceremony, while local councillor Fred Walker will unveil a plaque dedicated to a former colleague, the late Sam Little. Sam served Tyldesley Urban District Council from 1958 to 1974 and Wigan Council until 1999, when he was made an honorary alderman of the borough. A former Durham miner and NUM official, Cllr Little chaired the old Housing Committee from 1974 until 1996 and the plaque commemorates his invaluable service to social housing in the borough.

Cllr Brogan said:

“Sam was a wonderful character and a great servant to Tyldesley and the rest of the borough. He was passionately committed to social housing and there could be no more appropriate person to dedicate this new housing office to.”

Cllr Fred Walker unveils a plaque dedicated to a former colleague, the late Sam Little

Wigan & Leigh Housing is the ’arms length organisation (ALMO) responsible for managing council housing in Wigan borough. The ALMO is governed by a ‘parent board’, with area boards in Leigh and Wigan. As part of a policy of providing a local uniform service from its new headquarters, Leigh Homes will have its own homeless persons unit and tenant support unit, and tenant participation and tenancy relations units.

Note to editors