Wiggett Construction supporting Wigan

After recommendations from Wigan Council, Roy Finch, Contracts Manager at Wiggett Construction visited both Ashton Pantry and The Hamlet in Ashton-in-Makerfield, to introduce himself and to gain further understanding about their work with the local community. Roy and his colleagues were impressed by the hard work and dedication which has gone in to both the Ashton Pantry and The Hamlet and Wiggett Construction has now donated £500 to each.

The Hamlet is a non-profit organisation that supports young adults aged 19 – 25 with SEND, based at The Three Sisters in Ashton-in-Makerfield. They provide opportunities for the Trainees to develop skills for their future through the Duke of Edinburgh programme and vocational areas: The Nest Café, Lakeside Printing, and the retail outlets.

Ashton Pantry is currently situated in a wooden building with no insulation, which is prone to pest infestations. They have planning permission to build a pantry, kitchen and storeroom connected to the hall, that will be used to provide PayAsYouFeel meals and teach people to cook nutritious, healthy meals. The space vacated by the current pantry will be used for the café which, as well as providing low-cost meals will also be a place for us to chat to people and, if appropriate, signpost them to other agencies.

The pantry is one of six across Wigan, all run out of church buildings, offering a cheaper and more environmentally sustainable way of shopping. Each member pays £5 annually, although this is waived for those who are referred and asylum seekers. They currently have over 760 members and have an average of 98 shops a week.

Wiggett Construction, new homes developer based in Oldham, is working on a development of Wigan Council backed, affordable and environmentally friendly housing at Priory Road, Bryn. Works are underway with development of six bungalows to help tackle the shortage of adaptable homes for residents with additional needs. The company looks forward to their new relationship with both Ashton Pantry and The Hamlet and are already thinking of ways in which to support them going forward.