Cost of Wigan's multi-million pound town centre redevelopment could still change due to inflation

As a joint meeting between the Confident Council Scrutiny Committee and the cabinet saw council bosses reaffirm their commitment to the £135m project – but cost is still being questioned.

The vision for the town centre overhaul would see the construction of a hotel, 464 homes and a multimedia centre with a cinema, ten-lane bowling alley and indoor mini golf as well as new market hall with stalls, shops and offices.

When Independent member Coun James Paul Watson asked in Wigan Town Hall whether the cost of £135m was fixed, he was told it depended on market rates.

“We have mitigation for risk in the programme,” Paul McKevitt, director of resources and contracts and deputy chief executive, said, answering Coun Watson’s question. “So at the moment we have got a period of high inflation so we have an element to cover inflationary pressures.

“Currently we have a provision for £130m and each quarter we will come back with a capital programme and we may need to revise that upwards or downwards. At the moment the demolition stage is going on and that takes about 18 months to complete.

“That is where we hope interest rates will start to decline and fall again. We hope that by the time it comes to the building stage of the project prices may well have come down and that might bring it to within £130m.

“While we accept that there may be some risk around the cost of the Galleries, that is why we are presenting it at that level (£135m rather than £130m).”

The site will sit off Market Street – where the old Galleries shopping centre lies vacant. After the demolition work commenced in November last year, it is expected that building will commence in May 2024.

A spokesman for Wigan Council said previously: “The first phase of the demolition works is an 18-month programme, which began in July 2022. The intention is that ground, substructure and enabling works for new buildings will also begin during this phase as plots are cleared, to provide the platform for above ground construction of the various new buildings to come forward.

“The new market hall is targeted to be the first new construction building to complete in 2024. A second phase of demolition will begin on the existing market hall once the new Market Hall is open and trading.

“This is a phased build programme, which the council and our developer partner Cityheart are committed to completing as efficiently and effectively as possible.”

Planning permission for the redevelopment of the Galleries shopping centre was granted in November 2021 and looks to provide a vibrant new retail, leisure, commercial destination in the heart of the town centre, the council stated.