Hindley Green
Hindley Green is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. The population of the village had decreased to 11,186 at the 2011 Census. The village lies to the east of Hindley and is centred on the A577 Atherton Road to its boundary with Leigh. History. Since 1852 Hindley Green has had 14 coal pits. Hindley Green railway station was opened in 1864 and closed in 1961. It was situated on Leigh Road. Hindley Green was also the site of a Turner Brothers Asbestos factory which opened in 1949. Asbestos caused many chronic industrial  diseases leading to payouts for those affected. Governance. Hindley Green forms one of the twenty-five wards of the metropolitan borough. Each ward returns three councillors to the seventy-five member Wigan Council. Councillors have a four-year term of office, with elections held in three years out of four. Of the three ward councillors there is one Labour and two independent. The council is controlled by the Labour Party which enjoys a large majority. The area forms part of the Wigan Division of the Greater Manchester Police. Hindley Green is one of five communities (the others being Abram, Ashton -in-Makerfield, Bryn and Hindley) served by the Hindley Neighbourhood Policing Team, based at Bamfurlong Police Station. Education. There are three primary schools in the area: Hindley Green Community Primary School, St John's Church of England Primary School and Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School. Local facilities. Hindley Green is served well by a number of church run clubs including scouts, guides, rangers, boys brigade, slimming world and various fitness groups. There is also a thriving football club, as well as a couple of local shops, a post office, a restaurant, a couple of takeaways and a couple of  public houses. It's also the site of an award-winning creative design studio (NW Design) which is supported by entrepreneur and ex-Dragons' Den star Theo Paphitis. Religious sites. Hindley Green has four churches: Economy. In March 2011, Wigan granted permission to build the UK's first zero-energy business park. The £2.7 million scheme created around of office space at Swan Lane, Hindley Green Industrial Estate. The tenants are not required to pay gas, electric or water costs because of the zero carbon technologies used such as wind turbines and rainwater collection.