Wigan residents urged to have their say on town centre development plans

Work on the Galleries25 project is set to begin, which will see the Galleries shopping centre replaced by hospitality, leisure and accommodation in a £190m revamp.

The Friends of Wigan Town Centre have now created a survey, hosted by the the Crowd Wisdom Project, to have a say on how they want the centre to look.

It comes after members of the group became frustrated by what they saw as a lack of opportunity to genuinely impact the town centre development, despite repeated requests and petitions.

Since its creation 148 people in Wigan voted cumulatively 6,178 times using the anonymous online conversational tool.

So far, citizens have devised 91 statements for fellow Wiganers to vote upon. Each person has voted an average of 41 times.

The results reveal a strong consensus for: business grants for local people so they are in a position to take up new business opportunities, a rent reduction for market retailers and more independent shops.

Voters also believe the market, shops, cafes and seating for the elderly are important, as well as having places to park.

A weak agreement was found about: whether residential and leisure should be balanced with retail and if the Galleries is no longer fit for purpose.

Angela Fell, a member of the Friends of Wigan Town Centre, said: “The consensus is growing, and changes each time people vote or add new statements.

"We are keen to hear from lots of people with differing views.

"This is a tool for reaching consensus, to discover what we agree on and helps to understand where we are divided. It’s time for us to explore what we agree on. This poll helps with that.”

The results of the survey will be presented to election candidates and they will be invited to comment on the points raised.

Ms Fell added: “As it stands, the consensus points seem like achievable requests, which we hope the council officers and all candidates in the forthcoming election will take heed of.

"We look forward to seeing how they develop as the number of votes rises.

“These points are sensible views, shared widely throughout the area. The possibility for the use of this tool in the run-up to local elections in the future is huge and could obtain more in-depth polling data on the borough than has ever been seen in the UK.

"As this grows and develops, we anticipate that candidates will be able to add their profiles and personal statements to a platform, as well as being asked their views on the discovered consensus points.

“The Polis voting system is different from normal surveys as it seeks to understand, rather than to explicitly quantify, what people think.

"Anonymity means that voters need not fear being cancelled, or shouted down, for expressing unpopular views. Transparency ensures that votes cannot be tampered with in order to rubber stamp decisions.

“We invite people who live, work and play in the borough to take part. Vote on the statements of other people and add your own statements if your views are missing. “

The poll will close on April 24 and votes can be cast at polis.crowdwisdomproject.org/8bearwpcf3

Results can also be viewed here