A live Wigan music, food and drink venue in iconic location can carry on, councillors say

The Feast at The Mill complex in “boiler house” in the Wigan Pier Conservation Area has been operating at weekends since October and councillors on the town’s planning committee have now given their retrospective blessing for it to carry on.

They have attempted to allay fears that music from the Grade II-listed Eckersley Mill would disturb nearby residents by imposing noise restrictions – including a sound limiter on the venue’s in-house PA system.

After the three-year period expires, much of the complex will be demolished – apart from two chimneys because of their historic value – to make way for the much wider redevelopment of the area by The Heaton Group.

Principal planning officer Therese Maguire said that music would cease at midnight. Once a month there will be ticketed DJ events for which they would use their own sound systems, but these must finish by 11pm.

Normal hours of operation will be from noon to midnight on Friday and Saturday and from noon to 10pm on Sundays and public holidays.

Tom Flanagan of the planning and heritage consultancy company Paul Butler Associates told the committee: “The boiler house will be removed eventually for a wider development of the site. This will mark the beginning of the future of the Eckersley Mill complex.”

He said there are 20 people employed on the site and the food and drink outlets use local suppliers.

Coun Janice Sharratt said: “I can’t see any reason to refuse this application. But I’m stressing that if we get complaints from residents we should act quickly. I’ve experienced noise [nuisance] and it’s not pleasant, so we must act as soon as possible.”

Coun Paul Blay agreed, saying: “I think it’s a good temporary use of the area.”

Eckersley Mills is undergoing a colossal £180m makoever with the introduction over the coming years of office space, rooftop restaurant, accommmodation and a 120-room hotel among other features.