Wigan and Leigh College wheel to be placed on the roof

The Wigan skyline is set to revert to days of old when pit head winding gear will once again been seen spinning over the former mining town.

This morning the pit wheel outside Wigan and Leigh College’s The Wheel Restaurant will be rolled around the corner and re-positioned atop the Parson’s Walk Campus’ main building.

During recent building work at the former Wigan Mining and Technical College, which used to be based at what is now the New Town Hall, a capped mine shaft was discovered under the elevator shaft.

It has been decided that it would be a great idea to use the wheel in the mechanism to power a new lift that is to be installed.

It will double as a monument to all those that used to work in the coal industry that will be visible for miles around, from Giant’s Hall to Hindley Hall.

An elaborate “long rope pulley system” will enable social distancing to be observed among the contractors as they carry out the work. Once they get a roll on, the wheel will turn the corner of New Market Street, before being hoisted into position.

When work is complete, a topping out ceremony will be performed when a bottle of Prospect Brewery’s Nutty Slack will be smashed against the wheel.

The college is set to re-introduce mining qualifications that will have a slant on slightly greener energy with the study of smokeless fuels.

Landscaping work on the grounds will “bring the inside out” to complement the winding gear by using large boulders of coal recovered from the mine shaft in Bold black rockeries.

A spokesperson for the contractors said “We need to get rolling as the he work needs to be completed before noon when stricter social distancing rules come in for our workers”.

In case you didn't get it this was an April Fool!