00:00Good morning, my name is David Ward. I've just turned 60 and I'm a Wigan Council tenant.
00:07I moved into this property behind me just on five years or so ago.
00:13And when I first moved in, this area that you can see here now was an absolute eyesore.
00:19It was a complete and utter waste ground and it just looked like a waste to it.
00:24Everybody used to just throw all the rubbish down. It was full of weeds and brambles and nettles and dead bushes.
00:32So over the last five years, I've done a bit at a time and I've managed to turn it around.
00:38It was a hell of a lot of hard work and I've put a lot of my own money into it.
00:43And I'm really, really proud that, you know, that we've managed to turn such a horrible eyesore
00:49into such a wonderful and vibrant, colourful place for the whole community to come and use and sit on the bench if they want.
00:59Just spend five minutes and look at the fantastic mural that Jess has created.
01:04She's an absolutely amazing, wonderful artist, local from Applebridge, and I think she's done a fantastic job.
01:12And I'd just like to thank everybody that's been involved over the last 12 months,
01:17including Councillor Vicky and Wiggins Council's Tenant Voice Association.
01:23The Hub, I'm a veteran, I'm a volunteer at the Armed Forces Community HQ at Molinex House in Wigan.
01:32And as you've seen, they've all come down here today just to commemorate this wonderful Community Memorial Garden,
01:39which celebrates both World Wars and celebrates everybody that gave their life or gave their time
01:47so that we can all live in peace, lest we forget.
01:53Hello, I'm Councillor Vicky Galligan and we're here today to look at the excellent Memorial Garden
02:00that's been created by one of our tenants, Dave.
02:03Dave's our tenant rep and he liaises between the council and people living here in Shevington on the estate.
02:11And Dave has transformed this patch of land from it being a bit of a grot spot, it was attracting a lot of rubbish.
02:17There was a lot of overgrowth here and it was really neglected.
02:20Dave's worked wonders, he's transformed it from the ground up and then he wanted to create a memorial to the Armed Forces as well.
02:29So me and Dave got together with Jess, a local artist from Apley Bridge and we asked the council for permission.
02:36We went and consulted with neighbours and we applied through Shevington's Community Association for the Tenants Together Fund,
02:48which is paid for the mural to be painted.
02:51So I just wanted to say thank you to Dave for his sheer hard work.
02:55What he's done is basically shown how a lot of love and time and communication with people living around you can really turn around an area and improve it for the better.
03:06So come down, come and have a look at it, take your pictures.
03:10If you're on your jog walk or you're walking through the village, come and have a sit down and have a chat with the neighbours and reflect on all those hard working service people that have dedicated their lives or even lost their lives for us.
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