CHARLES GRAHAM - Memory Lane route to an exciting future

I’d been invited by developer Step Places - which is breathing new life into the Pier building (plus the former education centre and Orwell next door) - for a tour of its restoration and refurbishment work to date.

At first I was hit by a wave of great nostalgia. So many happy memories of taking my children round there came rushing back. It was also a go-to place when entertaining visitor friends and family, the Victorian schoolroom being a particular favourite.

Then I felt surprise that it is “only” 13 years since the museum shut. It seemed even longer ago, but of course it wasn’t otherwise my younger child wouldn’t recall it so vividly.

Following the sadness that it was never to be like that anymore, my next sentiment was slight disappointment that its appearance hadn’t changed as much as I had expected, given that hard-hatted workmen have been swarming all over it for a year.

But that was replaced by admiration as host Gareth Smith soon set me right.

The development director demonstrated just how much of the fabric of these buildings has had to be repaired and replaced. Not quite the old joke about having an antique axe only first the head and then the handle had to be replaced; but a huge amount of structural engineering has been undertaken to get rid of rotting timber trusses and beams. More obvious to passers-by will have been the complete makeover to the exteriors so they look as good as new.

And they are almost reaching the point where, after all the vital, heavy, technical and ultimately publicly unappreciated work is done, things will suddenly appear to move very quickly.

The cosmetic changes transforming these near shells into a food hall, micro-brewery, wedding venue, bar, classrooms et al should take a fraction of the time and the prediction is that the re-birth of these Pier landmarks will be complete by the autumn.

Ultimately then it’s feelings of excitement and anticipation that prevail.

And I sincerely hope that this project - involving Step Places, the council and The Old Courts - is a roaring success that ups Wigan’s status as a visitor destination again and proves the catalyst for further regeneration not just of the Pier area but of Wigan town centre too.

For a report on the developments see this week’s Wigan Observer.