Wrecking ball moves in to flatten former Wigan church

Much of the church has already been reduced to rubble

The Catholic Church had been trying to keep its options open as far as the future of the Newtown St Edward’s church building and presbytery were concerned after it closed a year ago.

But because it had become a magnet for vandals and other anti-social behaviour, the decision was taken to raze it.

Bulldozers and cranes are now well into demolishing the concrete structure on Scot Lane, after which all the rubble will be cleared away.

What happens to the site after that remains open to conjecture.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool was last year granted planning permission by Wigan Council to flatten both St Edward’s and Ince St William’s after they became surplus to requirements.

Services were last held at the contrasting buildings – the first a modern concrete structure, the other a more traditional red-brick building – in late 2017 after a major reorganisation.

A letter from the archbishop Malcolm McMahon was read to churchgoers at Mass about the closures, provoking anger and accusations of “betrayal” among congregations whose buildings were to be shut.

Elsewhere, though, there was delight as efforts to keep several landmark churches in the borough open ended in success, particularly at St Patrick’s in Scholes. The Archdiocese’s presence in the borough is now to be made up of four parishes, with one existing set-up remaining and three new ones being created.

There is a St William’s Parish using the churches of St John’s and St Patrick’s. St Cuthbert’s and Sacred Heart formed a new parish called St Edward’s, and the parish of St Jude and St Aidan was formed with both churches remaining open. The parish of St Mary remained unchanged.

Demolition was to have taken place within a three-year period of getting planning permission, but a spokesman for the archdiocese said this did not mean that one or both churches couldn’t be preserved if an alternative use for existing buildings had become the preferred option.

But he added today: “We had problems with anti-social behaviour and vandalism and felt it the best option to demolish St Edward’s now. There are currently no active plans for either sites.”

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