It's great to think than in less than 12 months' time, people will be doing their Christmas shopping in the new Wigan indoor market
“There is a huge amount of interest in Wigan from investors. It is very much on the up.”
So says the leader of the borough’s local authority, Coun David Molyneux, as he looks forward to major developments in 2026 and beyond.
The year 2025 has been one of gathering momentum rather than spectacular transformations as a number of projects announced several years earlier begin to take shape.
The most obvious one is Fettlers – the name that was conferred this year on the vast £135m development that is replacing the Galleries shopping centre.
The patience of punters, residents and businesses has been tested as progress appeared slow, but in recent months the skeleton of the new Market Hall has begun to emerge and work is beginning on building the new, 144-bedroom Hampton by Hilton.
Some people have cynically wondered why on earth such a big brand would be interested in building a hotel in Wigan of all places, but Coun Molyneux sees it as a ringing endorsement.
He said: “I can tell you that this company does a lot of homework. It will have looked at everything that is going on round here – including Cotton Works – and seen that it is a place in which it can confidently invest.
"There is a huge amount generally from investors in Wigan at the moment. The place is very much on the up.
"The market hall is scheduled to be finished next November. It’s great to think than in less than 12 months' time, people will be doing their Christmas shopping in there.
"By then the hotel should be well advanced. The ground works are just about finished now and developments there will begin to be visible early in 2026. On the back of that we have to sort out the external areas and the pavilion will start coming into line in terms of applications.”
All of that part of the project has money behind it already, which just leaves the planned 464 homes for the site, but Coun Molyneux said there are opportunities with regional funding for housing because of the Government’s commitment to help create one and a half million new homes.
When asked when he thought Fettlers would be complete, he said 2028.
One project that has been finished this year is Civic: a mix of cutting-edge workspace, creative studios and social spaces now successfully occupying the former council civic buildings on Millgate.
Next door to it is another project which should be up and running in the next six months: Stack, the major hospitality and entertainment hub which will occupy half of the former Debenhams store in the Grand Arcade.
Coun Molyneux said: “The external fit-out on Stack is going well with only the big balcony onto Concert Square still to come and then they will press on with the interior.
"There is optimism for its being open by the summer. If you look at Stack’s record in other towns they are doing well so should be successful in Wigan too.”
Haigh Woodland Park remains a work in progress with planning applications now coming in for the hall interior, the external restorations and improvements having now been completed.
The historic building will eventually be home to a restaurant, rooftop bar, events space, gift shop and 10 bedrooms. It is expected to take about 12 months for the internal works to be finished, so the prediction is that Haigh Hall will be done by early 2027. And by the end of that year other aspects of the park should also be complete, including the Bothy yard, plantation gates and an events village.
Wigan Council has also been delighted to announce that it has finally found its first new tenant for the restored Wigan Pier buildings.
National arts eduction and cultural learning charity Curious Minds is to set up its national base in what was called the Heritage Education Centre and is now called Pier 2.
A planning application has been submitted and it is hoped that extensive fitting out to create new studios and galleries will begin in the new year.
And perhaps that will then be a catalyst for other organisations to fill what used to be The Orwell and The Way We Were, the latter of which has been used for one-off events but remains a shell and would need to be fitted out for any permanent tenant to move in.
Coun Molyneux said: “This partnership with Curious Minds will see opportunities for creativity and community at Pier 2 of Wigan Pier, breathing new life into our iconic heritage.
"This is Progress with Unity in action. I'm so pleased that young people are at the heart of these plans, and that they will be able to access culture and new opportunities here in the heart of town.
"Wigan has a strong heritage of making, creating and fettlin', and it’s great to see that legacy continuing in a space with such historical significance.”
Although not a council project, Cotton Works can only be of benefit to the overall success of the town centre, especially now that £25m from Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s Good Growth Fund has been secured which will allow developer and owner Heaton Group to press on with further phases of the former Eckersley’s Mills site transformation which is already seeing large numbers of people flocking to its Three Mills Alehouse and Feast at the Mills even before the forthcoming food hall and rooftop bar complete Mill One (which is also home to several businesses in its middle storeys and co-working space.
The Mayoral cash will see Mill 3 regenerated into commercial, office, leisure, and healthcare space giving work to an estimated 670 workers as well as the creation of an accommodation block comprising almost 180 new homes.
Coun Molyneux said: “Cotton Works is its own story. It is complementing what is going on in the town centre and, as will be the case when the Pier is properly up and running, it is also drawing into the town centre, creating that link out to the stadium too."
He added that there was much excitement about multi-mllion-pound Government Pride of Place awards for Leigh, Abram and Platt Bridge, Laithwaite and Marsh Green where residents will decide how the money is spent over the next decade.
And he held out hope that the chances of more Government funding to complete the long-awaited M6 to M61 link road, which would do much to ease congestion and boost prosperity, were rising.
As far as Wigan town centre is concerned, the leader said: “The developments there couldn’t be more welcome. They are providing a lot a jobs already. There are loads of people on site at Fettlers, for instance, who live in the borough.
"And Wigan and Leigh College being appointed the North West’s construction technical excellence college should not be underestimated either, and a lot of their apprentices will be able to get hands-on experience very close to home.
"Places like Wigan are becoming increasingly attractive to investors. People are looking outside the cities and seeing that their returns are better here, it has great connectivity too and the cost of living is lower. In other wowds Wigan is not a bad place to be.”