I WOULD like to comment on the decision to move the rehabilitation units out of Leigh made by the NHS Wigan Borough Clinical Commissioning Group.

It represents yet another decision to export jobs and expertise out of Leigh made by a public or private body.

How many jobs are being moved?

At the same time we are hearing of an expansion at Wigan’s Royal Albert Edward Infirmary to accommodate a new laboratory.

Who is paying for the personnel? Is it the same CCG?

It seems yet again Leigh is being used to save money while we hear of spending and expansion elsewhere.

And it seems this trend is not being challenged at all.

A list of recent job exports/losses from Leigh include:

  • To Wigan: Leigh police public service desk personnel, Swinton Insurance, Yorkshire Bank, Stephensons Solicitors’ flagship building (Wigan Investment Centre) and basically Wigan and Leigh College (it seems there is just a rump left in Leigh)
  • To Trafford: The Leigh rehabilitation unit
  • General: Argos (in the market centre), two Waterfields bakery shops (in Bradshawgate), Ratcliffe’s of Leigh and Brides of Leigh.

All of this in spite of the guided busway, which councillors promised would provide an expansion of business in the area.

Is there any accountability?

There was also the Coalfield Challenge which was supposed to compensate Leigh for loss of jobs provided in its two pits, Bickershaw and Parsonage.

What is there to show for this? Where did all the money go?

Once again we see a two-tier borough.

One side there is corporate expansion with new ideas together with economic investment.

On the other side there is corporate decisions designed to save money together with both public and private job exports.

Added to this is the issue of it forcing more people to take on the stress of travelling to work on an already clogged roads system in order to hold down a decent job.

The busway cannot be used to travel to the job exports I have listed.

Also this side of the borough seems to be getting more than its fair share of house expansion while the economic areas within those regions are allowed to implode.

Yes, it looks like another example of The Deal.

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