Why has an eyesore piece of scrubland at Wigan Pier suddenly been cleared?

In fact there are no formal plans for the site alongside The Edge on Riveredge and Southgate just at the moment, but Wigan Council experts are carrying out tests there to see whether it is suitable for development in the future.

It was only last month that Harinder Dhaliwal, the boss of developer Step Places which is relaunching the canalside Wigan Pier buildings, hinted that his current project wouldn’t be the last in the quarter, although he wouldn’t be drawn on which buidings or pieces of land he had in mind for further developments.

There are certainly other plots to chose from, the one previously occupied by Wigan ambulance station being another.

The council-owned land cleared runs next to the River Douglas and since The Edge was developed next door several years ago, it had become increasingly unslightly and overgrown while surrounded by makeshift secuirity fencing.

But with the undergrowth cleared, there an intent has been signalled that it shouldn’t go to waste if possible.

A spokeswoman for the local authority said: “The council is considering future options for this strategic site in the Wigan Pier Quarter.

"The site has been cleared to facilitate ground investigation work, the results of which will help inform future use for the site, which would of course be subject to any necessary planning consent.”

The council regularly carries out ground investigations and it doesn’t always follow that new buildings will then appear.

Such work was carried out on land behind the former St John the Baptist Junior School on Wigan Road, New Springs, years ago, giving hope to the owner of the derelict building that new properties would be built and an access road created in the process which would make it easier to redevelop the school buildings. But nothing has so far emerged.

But there is much to enthuse about when it comes to the Wigan Pier quarter.

The renaissance of the canalside premises – which constitute the education centre and former Orwell and The Way We Were museum – has been dogged by problems including the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

But after five years of planning and work, the final pieces of the jigsaw will fall into place in the coming months, said Mr Dhaliwal.

And rather than seeing recently announced plans to refashion parts of the nearby crumbling Eckersley Mills into an Altrincham Market-style food hall, roof top bar and offices, he welcomed the project from Heaton Group saying the two schemes can complement each other and lead to further improvements to the Pier quarter.

The new uses of the 55,000ft sq of Pier buildings, include events spaces for corporate and community hire including weddings and parties, offices/workspace, an educational facility and pop-up space for retail, performance, and market food hall events.

A large amount of work has been carried out on the buildings, making it weather-proof, bringing original features back to life, replacing rotten timber and preparing them for fitting out.

Sub-contractors will be moving in within weeks with Pier 4 (the former Way We Were) due to open in late summer while Pier 3 (the old Orwell) could open in June.

Wigan Council, The Old Courts and the Canal and River Trust are also involved in the project