Wigan's most iconic pub gears up for next phase of major refurbishment

The Cherry Gardens on Wigan Lane has been given the green light for a major overhaul inside and out.

OV- Group Wigan took over the run-down pub back in September last year to return it to its former glory and to keep it at the heart of the community.

The company was set up by Jordan Dempsey and Reece Kilcoyne in 2021 with just one cocktail bar on Wigan Lane: Lady Mabel.

Over the years they have built on taking run down community locals and putting them back at the heart of their community.

They operate several bars and pub in Wigan, Bolton, Chorley and North Wales and employ 80-plus employees locally.

The major improvements are in three phases, the first being completed in January.

Phase two will see new bathrooms installed over the course of two weeks later this month, during which time the pub will be fully operational.

Jordan, who is the operations director, said: “We took it on because it was struggling and the brewery were closing it because they didn’t have much hope for it.

"With plans with a joint investment with the brewery, we’ve worked out a half-a-million-pound investment for the building.

"In January this year, we closed the site for two weeks and did a full rip-out and it underwent a modern pub refurbishment with a new interior, adding a kitchen and food back to the place.

"Stage two will take place from July 29 where will have brand new bathrooms installed with one of them being accessible.”

The final works will see a six-week refurbishment of the outside of the building, adding new windows, repairing fascias and adding greenery.

The rear of the building will see the outbuilding converted into a bespoke garden room with a bar and wood fire pizza and great beer offering along with a large raised decking area that can accommodate up to 30 people

The fire places inside will also be replaced with two log burners.

There will be some closures for this time, likely to be a Monday and Tuesday, however there will be no major closures to the site during this period when work begins on September 2.

Jordan said the community have been happy with the improvements so far and they will celebrate the refurbishment with a re-opening event.

He added: "After many months of planning with the council because of its conservation and heritage, we’ve finally got it passed to repair the building and introduce a new colour scheme.

"We want to give the community somewhere to go for coffees and pizza.

"The community have really welcomed the improvements.

“People were fearful it was going to close, when we took it on it hadn’t had central heating since 2018.

"A lot of people have swallowed their words because there’s been a lot of false promises in the past.

"The community has been very accepting and they’re really behind us and supporting us.

"As soon as the scaffolding’s down after phase three, we’ll close for a day or two and give our existing works inside a bit of a sparkle and we’ll re-launch it all in one hit.”