Exclusive: council chiefs on 'very exciting two years' for Wigan's landscape

It is fair to say that residents have had to endure a number of years now during which the town centre has either been seen to be in decline or ground to a halt, with more retailers – and shoppers – leaving than coming.

But there is quite a list of works in progress which, if/when they arrive, promise much for the economy, and thus be a great boost for the area’s standing and morale.

In an exclusive interview with the leader of the council, David Molyneux, he voices great enthusiasm and hope for Wigan over the next two years, not just for the town centre but also other developments, including Haigh Hall whose multi-million-pound upgrade in recent weeks has been overshadowed by the departure of creative directors Al and Al.

He said: “We are very optimistic for Wigan going into 2025 and 2026. There are a lot of plans and ambitions for the town and beyond which are now coming to fruition.

"What is happening at the former Galleries site is a catalyst for drawing other developers into the town. We are getting a lot of interest from parties who previously would only be interested in city centres but are now looking at Wigan instead.

"Admittedly we took our foot off the accelerator but now we are moving foward rapidly. There has been a surge in the number of people wanting to do things in the town and we are embracing that.

"And to those who say it is all ‘pie in the sky,’ there is funding there to do this. For instance, as far as the former Galleries site is concerned, except for the residential development which comes at the end. the money is there for all of it – the market hall, hotel, pavilion and public square."

So let’s go through the individual plans:

The Galleries

Principal contractor Galliford Try is now on site preparing the ground for the creation of the new market hall.

The council’s Director of Place, Aidan Thatcher, said that as the most complicated of the structures being created on the site, it will be the longest to complete, with its skeleton on the skyline by next autumn.

By then work on the 144-room Hampton by Hilton hotel should have started and, with its being a far more straightforward building, it will probably catch up with the market hall.

Only when the hall is completed, will traders move across and the present buildings be demolished.

Coun Molyneux said: “As we get into 2026 we will see the market hall in all its glory and all the other buildings beginning to take shape as well.”

Once the hotel construction is under way, work will then begin on the pavilion building as well as the cinema and leisure space followed by 464 homes across seven new residential buildings and a retirement living complex.

Civic Centre

Work is advancing well on transforming the former 1970s Civic Centre on Millgate into a hub for innovation and collaboration and is expected to be completed within the next 12 months.

Alongside the high-spec workspaces, Civic will be packed with communal facilities from a gym and mini cinema, to chill-out lounges and a relaxing roof terrace.

There will also be spaces for the public to enjoy, including a new café bar complete with a spill-out terrace for when the sun’s shining, as well as outdoor seating spots along Millgate.

Coun Molyneux said: “The project is absolutely brilliant. It is ahead of schedule and there has been a terrific amount of interest shown in it – even more than anyone hoped for.

"An office show suite is due to open any time soon for potential occupiers to look at.”

Mr Thatcher said that Civic is aimed mainly at small and medium-sized enterprises but there is space for larger businesses too.

He added that there is wrap-around support for events and a Warrington-based management consultancy and innovation agency Inventya is helping to nurture fledgling companies that will eventually move into Civic.

Grand Arcade

Work is now beginning on transforming much of the former Debenhams store into hospitality and entertainment hub Stack.

A massive two-storey venture, occupying half of the available space and will include bar areas and food hall operators at ground level with seating and a stage area which will host live entertainment events, including music and comedy nights.

This will be replicated on the first floor.

Major structural work comprises creating an internal balcony (as well as a mezzanine floor) by taking out a large section of the first floor so that those in the upper areas can look down on a newly built stage looking out onto Concert Square.

To accommodate this, the charity Rebuild with Hope has moved its giant outlet shop into the former Wilko store on Standishgate and it is hoped Stack will be open for business in the summer.

Grand Arcade manager Mike Matthews said a lesiure business was interested in the other half of the giant ex-Debenhams’ first floor not occupied by Stack and once Stack is in place he thinks the last quarter, on the ground floor will become more appealing too.

Coun Molyneux said: “This is another terrific development which will really give Wigan town centre a boost.”

He added that he hoped it might also bring into focus the listed former Pennington’s furniture building on Millgate, which was at one time considered for a restaurant but remains idle after undergoing a restoration.

And it should also be pointed out to potential developers that there remains the land at the bottom of Millgate which was to have been occupied by the Tower Grand next phase of the mall before recession struck in 2008.

Food hall and apartments

As Wigan Today revealed recently, planning permission has been approved for the former Evolution bar on King Street to undergo a major transformation, with the ground floor turned into a Mackie Mayor-type food hall and the upper storeys into 36 apartments.

The plan from Patrick Wilson Architects proposed a single company manage the ground floor and basement food and drink market, but with a number of businesses operating out of the space served by separate kitchens.

Meanwhile a blueprint has been submitted to Wigan Council to create 26 apartments on the upper floors of the former Wallpaper Supplies building on Library Street, in the process replacing the roof and creating a two-storey extension. Shop frontages will also receive a makeover.

It would include a “creative space” or “creative hub” which might be occupied by businesses. Mawdesley’s Cedar Farm hub, which is home to a number of artisans, has been suggested as a role model.

Planners also have given the thumbs-up for a 17-room boutique hotel at former solicitors’ offices (30-32 King Street).

Further up King Street, properties 21 to 25 have received funding under the High Street Heritage Action Zone scheme to allow for the restoration of the historic façade and reinstatement of traditional shopfronts.

Part of the premises have also been internally refurbished (including with a Changing Places toilet facility) to form a Community Hub and Safe Haven for the street and is due to open shortly.

And businessman Tony Callaghan has received planning permission to create 36 apartments on Wallgate while Harry’s Bar down below gets a major makeover and reverts to its old name, The Clarence Hotel.

Coun Molyneux said: “There are number of ventures going on at the moment to repopulate the town centre.

"People have been living in cities again for years but only quite recently have towns cottoned on to welcoming residents back.

"And of course with more people living within walking distance of hospitality, retail, leisure and other other business venues, that greatly improves custom.”

Cotton Works

Further down the line, this colossal redevelopment of the former Eckersley Mills in the Pier quarter will itself contribute to that repopulation, developers having received planning permission to create 137 apartments in Mill Three.

In the meantime though it is Mill One whose transformation into a food hall, business units and bars – including a spectacular glass-sided one on the roof, is nearing completion.

John Heaton, whose Wigan-based Heaton Group is masterminding the project, says that Mill One should be fully up and running within the next six months. In the meantime plenty of people have been getitng used to the Cotton Works as a hospitality venue with the successful Feast at the Mills street food, bar and live music offer currently occupying several smaller buildings on the site.

With that complete, the next in a further 10 phases will get going, the whole project expected to take around a decade to complete.

Coun Molyneux said: “The Cotton Works project is incredibly exciting and is already attracting a lot of interest from businesses, including those from outside the area.”

Wigan Pier

One of the biggest disappointments of recent years has been the lack of progress on the landmark Wigan Pier buildings.

Having been the North West’s second most visited tourist attraction in the 1980s and ’90s, there was great hope that those glory days could return after developers, the council and Canal and River Trust teamed up in 2018 to announce that the historic buildings would be restored and it would re-launch as a food hall, wedding venue and education centre, among other things.

A huge amount of work has been carried out on their rehabilitation to the point that all that is really required now is for fitting out to take place along with landscaping of the space between mills two and three. But that was after Covid and soaring prices held up the development and little or nothing has been going on there for many months now.

But Coun Molyneux is not expecting the project to be mothballed altogether.

He said: “We're still very much committed to it in terms of what we want to deliver at the Pier for the people.

“And certainly going forward into 2025, we're very optimistic in terms of the outcomes that we'll get from the project.

“So, I think there's a lot of optimism. We're very optimistic about the vision we had in 2018 and it is still the vision in terms of what we want to deliver. That's not changed or our enthusiasm.”

Haigh Hall

While some people are saying that the departure of Al and Al will be a catalyst for the massive regeneration of Haigh Woodland Park and the former stately home itself, there is no doubting in Coun Molynuex’s mind that it remains full steam ahead.

He said: “It’s going to happen: we have no worries about it. It’s something of which the people of the borough will be very proud when it’s finished.

"We will see visitor numbers rising this summer.”

The council has provided a timetable of works for the various woodland park developments and when they hope to see them completed:

Mowpin Lodge Gates installed - late 2024

Amphitheatre for a Tree - public launch spring 2025)

External works at the hall complete - spring 2025

Detailed interior design work concludes 2025, with a contractor to be appointed in the autumn

Woodland Hub and Comet Play Trail - on site autumn/winter 2025

Plantation Gates’ restoration complete - early 2026

Bothy Yard (a centre for training and education, community activities, volunteering, an office for the site team and flexible spaces to support the events programme) opens - autumn 2026

New glass house opens in Walled Garden - 2027.

Link road

The next phase of Wigan’s link road has stalled in the last couple of years after Government cash to back the section from Pemberton up to the M6-M58 roundabout at Orrell failed to materialise.

But Coun Molyneux is hopeful that the new administration may be persuaded to bring the project back on track, particularly as Makerfield MP Josh Simons has taken up the cause.