IN this column, I’d like to talk about the regeneration of the town centres in our constituency.

But before I do, I’d just like to give a quick update on the vaccination programme.

By the time you read this article, nationally, more than 95 per cent of care home residents, the over 80s, and the over 75s will have been vaccinated, and well over 80 per cent of the over 70s.

If you fall into one of these groups, and you haven’t been contacted yet regarding your vaccination, please contact your GP surgery to arrange a vaccination appointment.

If you are not sure how to contact your GP, or you don’t have one, please get in touch with my office via email and we will assist you in obtaining an appointment for your vaccination.

Last week I launched a survey on town centre regeneration, to enable my constituents to have their say on what they think should be done to ensure our local town centres are fit for the 21st century.

There are four town centres of importance to the Leigh constituency.

There is of course Leigh, but there are also Golborne, Tyldesley and Atherton town centres.

Atherton town centre lies just outside the Leigh constituency, in the seat of my colleague Chris Green, the MP for Bolton West, as the town of Atherton is currently split between our two constituencies, but is of course still important for my constituents within the part of Atherton I represent.

Issues that have been raised with me already by constituents include town centre parking capacity, bringing derelict shops and sites back into use, new and improved street furniture, the regeneration of shop fronts, and of course, transport links within the town, and to neighbouring towns, to name but a few.

Wigan Council are also running a consultation on the regeneration of Leigh town centre, and we will be feeding in your views from our consultation into that process.

To have your say on the regeneration of our town centres in my survey, please visit https://www.jamesgrundy.org.uk/town-centre-regeneration-survey

People on local Facebook sites speak with pride about how our towns used to look, sharing old photographs of our community when we had thriving, bustling town centres.

The age of Amazon and other online providers presents a range of challenges when it comes to fixing our town centres, but I believe that by working together, and asking the public to help shape a vision of the future of our town, and listening to them, we can restore what has been lost.