Transforming Wigan: what new food hall, hotel and flats will look like

Patrick Wilson Architects (PWA) is involved in a number of big improvements to both Library Street and King Street, the latter of which has fallen on hard times in recent years and not looking its best.

Already approved are new homes, a food hall and boutique hotel, with more flats and creative hub going through planning process and further facade upgrades already taking place.

For starters PWA has been given planning permission to turn the former Evolution bar on King Street into a Mackie Mayor-type food hall – dubbed King Street Social – on the ground floor and part of the basement and the upper storeys into 36 apartments.

Meanwhile the firm has also submitted a blueprint to Wigan Council for the creation of 26 apartments on the upper floors of the former Wallpaper Supplies building on Library Street, and in the process replacing the roof and creating a two-storey extension.​

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.

The facades of the existing businesses on the ground floor would be refurbished and four extra commercial units created. The complex would back onto a refurbished Arcade Square.

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

And further up King Street at 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 shop fronts.

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.

As part of a Heritage Action Zone project, other frontages have also been given a makeover, when needed to make the street more desirable to would-be investors.

Patrick Wilson, whose own offices are based in Library Street, told Wigan Today that these ventures chimed ideally with Wigan Council’s masterplan strategy of re-populating the town centre and so increasing footfall.

He added: “For regeneration in the area, this is exactly what towns like Wigan need. Southport, Bolton and Huyton, for instance, all have similar projects.

"They will complement other developments around the town. The hall is a day-night venue so it can be more family-oriented at certain times than premises in King Street have been for the last 20 to 30 years.”

Stripping out is currently taking place at the nightclub which closed in 2021. It has a rich history, starting off as offices in Victorian times before becoming part of the night time economy, most recently Evolution which closed in 2021.

It was bought by St George Housing an plans were approved for apartments and a retail/leisure venue on the ground floor. But the project stood still for a couple of years and so PWA came up with revised plans for King Street Social, which involved a food hall and knocking through some of the ground floor so that part of the basement becomes part of the available space.

Mr Wilson said the building is currently being stripped out and that particular project is expected to be complete by the second quarter of 2026.

As far as interior design is concerned, that would be up to the company that manages the space. The idea is then that food and drink businesses would then come in to occupy parts of the hall, each served by their own kitchens.

A larger Hampton by Hilton Hotel with 144 rooms will be built as part of the Galleries redevelopment in the next two years.

But that won’t be the only new establishment in town, a boutique hotel, complete with a gym, having also been approved for King Street. It will occupy two grade II town houses which had already been knocked through when they were occupied by the law firm. It will boast 17 rooms.

King Street has been a key part of Wigan town centre for many decades. In Victorian times through to the 1970s it was a place full of music halls, theatres and concert venues. The Hippodrome hosted Gracie Fields and both Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel when they were young. In the 1950s, folk would be queuing up on King Street to hear Sir John Barbirolli conduct the Halle Orchestra.

Cinemas were also in plentiful supply until multiplexes became the rage and for a time King Street becaome one of the most visited night club thoroughfares in the whole of the North West.

But the clubs’ fortunes too have faded and now there is a determination to reinvent it once again.

The Royal Court Theatre still stands ready to be re-opened after The Old Courts group won funding to renovate it, although that development stalled when the Old Courts were hit with financial problems due to structural damaged caused to their main performance venues on Crawford Street.

Bar chain tycoon Tony Callaghan too has designs on renovating Grimes Arcade but has been waiting for other signs of business renaissance – and an increase in footfall – before committing to the project.

Library Street has fared better in terms of appearance but would still benefit from the Wallpaper Supplies/Arcade House upgrade, even though the street was classy and characterful enough already to be used in that endlessly repeated Aviva advert!

Mr Wilson said: “We have an emerging reputation for finding bespoke solutions for difficult, often constrained and challenging sites.

”We are based in Wigan town centre ourselves and want to do our bit to make it look its best and perform to its best.”