LUKE MARSDEN: Fears for Wigan's town centre

​It’s one large construction site with a few coffee and vaping shops thrown in the mix.I had a wander around this week and, unfortunately like many Wiganers, I don’t visit it as much as I used to.

Even up to a few years ago I frequently popped into town but what would I be going into town for now?

Aside from the odd few gems like Funky Figures in Makinson Arcade and Franco’s on Rodney Street, the rest is an unrecognisable wasteland. Market Street is like a scene from Miley Cyrus’s Wrecking Ball video.

The ’80s weren’t that long along, The Galleries wasn’t that old; why are we bulldozing it? Are we then to believe that in 2066 we’ll be flattening whatever they are building next?

According to Wigan Council, by 2025 the market traders will have a brand spanking new hall to move into as part of its £130m monstrosity project. But will there be any market traders still trading by then?

If you haven’t yet seen the designs for how Wigan’s townscape will look when the project is done I urge you to look. Soulless is a polite way of describing it: like someone had fun playing Town Simulator for the day.Wigan town centre does not need £130m spent on cinemas, apartments and bowling alleys; we have all of this already. It needed a shot in the arm: an investment and engagement with local businesses.

A rent cut and free car parking wouldn’t solve all our problems overnight but would be a start.

Forget all of that though; let’s just knock everything down like a bad game of dominos.

I worry for the future of our town centre. In years to come it will be totally unrecognisable from its past: another generic town with its heart ripped out.

I want the redevelopment project to succeed because if it doesn’t, I think we’ll be out of dominos.