Former Wigan town centre newspaper base to be turned into flats

Steve Haigh, with funding from Blackfinch Property amounting to £600k, will be redeveloping the premises – which still bear the paper’s name - into 18 one-bedroom flats.

They will be built across three storeys, providing much-needed accommodation for the town.

Tucked away in the town centre off Wallgate, the red brick building once housed the weekly newspaper’s office and printing presses before the title moved in the 1970s.

The site of the development is the disused office building, and the development will bring a historic building back into use, thereby continuing the redevelop of Wigan’s town centre.

Several local tradespeople will be employed on-site during the build, which will then provide high quality city centre accommodation. The development plans have prioritised bike use, meaning that the environmental impact of the building will be limited. The development will also improve the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of the building.

Philip Downie, Investment Manager at Blackfinch Property, said: “We are very happy to have completed on the development financing for this project, which will restore this beautiful red brick building in the centre of Wigan to its former glory. But we are particularly pleased this development will bring much-needed jobs to this area, and that the developer will be working closely with them to ensure the building has a minimal environmental impact.

“We were delighted to be able to offer development lending to Steve Haigh for this project, and look forward to supporting him with this development.”