Tony Porter Ponders : Two long term stalled Wigan projects are getting going again.
Wigan Pier has a new tenant and Haigh Hall is about to have its plans reimagined along with a 300-space car park. Will local roads cope?
Good news at last for Wigan Pier 2, that’s the bit near Pier 1 that is attached to Pier 3 that was the Orwell Pub.
In fact, many will remember it as the gift shop for the museum.
A charity that works with kids and young adults is about to reimagine the interior, and extra.
All this is good, though I was concerned when I read that solar panels were to be put on a replacement roof.
Will this affect the heritage of the site, is it a listed building?
The answer is "no." It is, in fact, a "building of townscape merit" and therefore does not need special permissions from the local council apart from planning permission.
I trust that its location has been considered with the nearest car park no longer having a pelican crossing next to it. People will have to cross Haig Street to get to the new location of the pelican crossing on Wallgate.
I have been moaning about the lack of activity for a long time and had a Wigan Watch special on it in March this year.
Some progress is a great thing and I just hope that this will mean the rest of the site will be completed soon, though I fear it will not be open to the public as it was ever again.
I cannot imagine there being a pub or wedding venue being allowed so near a building for the younger generation.
Meanwhile after a tour by some VIPs - I was not invited for some reason - there has been a new planning application submitted to change the use of the Hall.
I thought that would have already gone through before the works started on the exterior.
A mixed-use cultural venue with 300 parking spaces and filling in the courtyard to make a kitchen.
£50m has been found, but wait.
In 2022 Museum and Heritage Advisor wrote that a £33.7m project was under way that "aims to make the location a beacon for arts, culture, heritage and the environment, helping it to become a modern, multi-faceted visitor destination."
The hall masterplan is split into five sections – each representing a floor of the hall.
An "underground experience" in its cellars will give visitors the opportunity to explore tunnels and passages hidden under the hall, and to view a secret bunker used during World War Two.
A new underground bunker cinema and underground bar will also be created, serving cocktails in the medieval foundations of Lady Mabel’s chapel.
Two things: where has all that money gone and why is £50m required now the exterior works have been completed and why does the council need to ask the council for permission now to change the hall's usage again to near enough exactly the same use, apart from a roof bar, get this, again from the website in 2022?
Coun Chris Ready said: “Our Haigh Hall masterplan would transform this iconic landmark into an attractive arts, culture and heritage visitor destination of national significance.”
"We are committed to engaging with local residents throughout the process and will be developing a full traffic and transport strategy for the whole site which will consider issues such as parking capacity and access routes to support our ambitions while having minimal impact on residents.”
How’s that going, folks?