Flats plan for former Wigan town centre snooker club and sports bar
A former snooker club in a prominent Wigan town centre location is at the centre of plans to create five flats.
The one-time Riley’s snooker hall, later the Q8 bar on Powell Street is the subject of a proposal by Ali El Soud of Egyco UKLtd to convert part of the ground floor into self-contained apartments.
The building was most recently used as a bar and grill serving hot food and alcohol with a late night opening licence.
The Q8 bar televised live sport along with having snooker and darts facilities.
A heritage statement in support of the plans said the scheme would retain the existing building’s appearance and involve mainly internal reconfiguration together with limited external alterations to openings and the frontage.
The building will be familiar to thousands of motorists who pass it each day due to its prominent corner position near the Northway and A49 junction.
The premises are close to the Dicconson conservation area which lies on rising ground to the north of Northway and Powell Street, which forms part of its southern edge.
Planning reports said that the application site is directly adjoined by a large two-storey commercial building which is currently vacant and “in an increasingly dilapidated state.”
That site previously had permission for conversion to a large HMO but that lapsed without any work being carried out.
A further recent application for a large 23 bedroom HMO there has been withdrawn.
The heritage report states: “Historic sources show that Powell Street formed part of the edge condition to the historic town centre and to the Standishgate and Dicconson area.
“While the present application building is not itself identified as a designated heritage asset, the street has historic associations and sits close to the St John’s group, which is a key element in the significance of the wider area.
“The application building appears to be of limited heritage significance in its own right.
“The current appearance is functional and altered, with limited architectural detailing and a frontage that has been adapted to its former leisure use.”
The application will be considered by planners at Wigan town hall in the coming weeks.