Wigan

Greater Manchester village named one of the poshest in Britain

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 19th January 2022

The poshest villages in Britain have been named this week – and one of them is in Greater Manchester.

A tiny corner of Wigan made it onto the list of the 54 ‘smartest rural locations’ published by the Daily Telegraph and researched by Savills.

The newspaper reports that people want an ‘authentic architectural aesthetic’ and ‘on-trend amenities’ like fitness studios and stores with refill stations.

The village of Haigh, just a few miles out of Wigan town centre, was chosen for its grand historic buildings and its sprawling woodland park.

Nether Alderley in Cheshire also made the list of the poshest villages. Credit: Geograph

It’s one of the villages with the cheapest average house price (£257,020) on the list too, beaten only by Dinnington in Tyne & Wear, and Newgale and Roch in Pembrokeshire.

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The Daily Telegraph said of Haigh: “Shrouded by trees, Haigh is a hidden gem just a few miles from the busy Wigan town centre.

“There’s an imposing country mansion, Haigh Hall, built between 1827 and 1840, and the restored Haigh Windmill, originally used to pump water to Haigh Brewery.

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Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan. Credit: Dan Blackburn on Unsplash

“It is also home to Haigh Woodland Park, with miles of winding trails through woodland and manicured gardens.”

Haigh was the only Greater Manchester village to work its way onto the list, though Nether Alderley in Cheshire, just outside the region, also made the cut.

Read more: Police issue warning about burglars who may trick their way into Greater Manchester homes

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David and Victoria Beckham once owned a house in Nether Alderley, as does former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

Frances Clacy, analyst at Savills, says: “People want villages that have a bit of everything, from schools to stunning countryside, with accessibility to cities and transport infrastructure.”

Featured image: Google Maps

Wigan

Richard Ashcroft teases long-awaited return with new music

Danny Jones Danny Jones Richard Ashcroft new music Lover album

Local music legend Richard Ashcroft has teased his return to the studio after seemingly teasing new music on social media.

The Wigan icon remains one of the most revered Greater Manchester musicians around, from his years as The Verve frontman to his much-celebrated solo stuff.

However, it’s been a while since we’ve heard new music from Ashcroft, with his most recent release coming in the form of an acoustic collection of classics back in 2021; his last album, Natural Rebel, came out nearly seven whole years ago.

With that in mind, when we hopped on social media to see that the ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ and ‘Lucky Man’ singer had uploaded a number of posts along with a date, it’s fair to say we got rather giddy.

richard ashcroft lover album
The lyricist with the most luscious lips in the game.
New Richard Ashcroft music looks to be on the way. (Credit: Richard Ashcroft via X)

Beginning the tease campaign earlier this month, Ashcroft posted nothing but the date “22.05.2025” on his X account, leaving fans scrambling around to try and dig up more details.

Then, shared just two days later, a glowing image of his face was revealed along with an identical caption in what looks to be a snapshot from a new music video, perhaps?

Sure enough, we got the left-hand image of that instantly recognisable pout on Monday, 19 May, accompanied not only by that same date and the ‘Lover’.

Although it’s still unclear as to whether this is the name of/album artwork for a long-awaited seventh studio LP or merely the title of a new lead single from whatever his next project is, all we know is Britpop fans are buzzing – us included.

We were already stoked to hear him confirmed as one of the support acts for the upcoming Oasis reunion shows late last year, and now there’s the prospect of hearing him play new material, we literally cannot wait for the summer.

‘Buzzing’ Richard Ashcroft announced as first support act for Oasis
What a bill.

The 53-year-old’s discography is rich enough as it is, but it feels like we’ve waited forever for a new record; that being said, we really do hope we’re getting ‘RA7’.

Regardless, Ashcroft has never disappointed on the live stage, with his landmark homecoming shows at Robin Park being nothing short of a massive deal for the town.

Here’s hoping we get a full album and a UK tour with plenty of Northern dates to boot. We don’t think that’s too much to ask for. Guess we’ll find out Thursday, 22 May.

Where does he rank among your favourite Manc musicians?

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Featured Images — Simon Q (via Flickr)/Richard Ashcroft (via X)

Wigan

Wigan woman jailed after hitting pedestrian in Fiat 500 while driving high on nitrous oxide ‘balloons’

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Louisa Tunstall

A young woman from Wigan has been handed jail time after hitting a pedestrian while driving high on nitrous oxide.

Louisa Tunstall was driving a white Fiat 500 towards the East Lancashire Road in Wigan at around 7pm on Friday 24 May 2024 – a time when traffic conditions were said to be ‘quiet’ – but Tunstall was under the influence of a now-banned drug, nitrous oxide, at the time of the incident, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed.

While driving under the influence, 19-year-old Tunstall veered to the left onto the pavement and collided with a 51-year-old woman pedestrian.

After striking the woman, the car then overturned and, in the process, caused serious life-changing injuries.

When questioned by police, Tunstall stated that she ‘took her eyes off the road’ to retrieve something in the footwell before knowing the car had flipped, but she also confirmed that she had just been out to purchase nitrous oxide to use that evening.

After obtaining witness accounts, investigating officers were able to track down nearby CCTV footable which showed Tunstall inhaling nitrous oxide through a balloon whilst driving, seconds before the collision occurred.

Further investigation by GMP’s Forensic Vehicle Examination Unit examined the Fiat 500 and confirmed that no defects were found on the car to contribute towards the collision.

Still to this day, the victim says she is trying to recover from the injuries sustained to her leg that will prevent her from continuing life as she did before.

“The incident is still very raw when I think about it,” the victim explained in her impact statement released by GMP. “I become upset when I think at everything which has been taken away from me and the ongoing affect it has had and continues to have on my daily life.”

GMP says it’s seeing the use of nitrous oxide being a factor in incidents they attend increasing year on year.

Nitrous oxide, also known as ‘laughing gas’, is reported to produce euphoria, relaxation, dizziness, giggling or laughing fits, impaired judgement, and occasionally dissociation and hallucinations – which GMP says affects reaction time and and is ‘likely lead to impairment’ in driving performance, particularly when faced with an unexpected or hazardous situation.

Read more:

Tunstall appeared at Bolton Crown Court this week, and has been sentenced to one year and eight months imprisonment for having possession of a Class C drug, driving under the influence of drugs, and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Alongside being jailed, she was also disqualified from driving for two years and eight months, and has been ordered to take an extended test when she is released.

Featured Image – GMP

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