Fed up residents lobby council over eyesore former Wigan school

It is now 22 years since St John the Baptist Primary School on Wigan Road, New Springs, closed for the final time.

And frustrations are growing on all sides that the building hasn't been redeveloped and is a highly prominent eyesore.

The owner of the building told Wigan Today that he shares the locals’ frustrations. Simon Jones cites many of his other projects demanding his more urgent attention, Covid thwarting previous plans and the soaring costs of labour for a lack of progress, but he has assured them that he doesn’t intend to sit on the site forever and wants to create something that benefits everyone.

The New Springs residents say there are grounds for Wigan Council to enact section 215 of the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act through which a local authority can compel the owner of a building to make improvements, not just if they are unsafe but also if they adversely affect neighbouring properties or the area.

They also want Mr Jones to start paying business rates both for St John’s and the old Bridge 63 pub at Red Rock, another of his projects which has currently stalled.

HMRC’s Warrington tax office decreed that both buildings be “nil rated” because it was deemed that they are currently “undergoing reconstruction” but resident Vince McCarthy says that it is plain to see that nothing has happened to either for years now.

The petition, containing scores of names, was handed over to local councillors, one of whom is cabinet member Chris Ready.

He said: “We want as much as anyone to see these buildings brought back into productive use. It is so frustrating when people buy buildings and then do nothing with them.

"And it is doubly annoying when the owner isn’t paying any business rates. That’s as much about the system as anything as the landlord though.

"The Warrington valuation office decides whether they are nil-rated or not.

”But it’s not fair. If I have a house I have to pay my council tax. If I have a second house I have to pay more. There has to be a level playing field.”

But Mr McCarthy said: “Warrington set the rates based on what the council tell them so they do have some power there as far as we are concerned. He has not paid business rates since 2010.

"And we want the local authority to intervene on the state of the buildings too. This petition relates to St John’s but it could equally apply to Bridge 63 which is in the same ward.

“Best practice guidance on the Town and Country Planning Act says that ‘if it appears that the amenity of part of their area is being adversely affected by the condition of neighbouring land and buildings, they (the council) may serve a notice on the owner requiring that the situation be remedied.’

"What was St John’s is in a terrible state and nothing worthwhile has happened to it for years. Occasionally the owner will do a bit of tidying up or a few repairs but it’s got no further than that. And it’s blighting the value of neighbouring properties and those across the road.

"There was the pandemic which I can see held things up but that’s just an excuse really. This has been going on a whole lot longer than that.

"If the council doesn’t do something about it this time, I am going to put in a formal letter. If that is ignored, I will go to the ombudsman.”

Mr Jones owns properties all over Wigan, was responsible for the revival of the abandoned Vale Royal at Orrell and includes three pubs in his portfolio all of which are currently demanding his attention.

Asked if he had bitten off more than he can chew, he said: “With the benefit of hindsight, probably, but the landscape has changed massively in recent years.

"I 100 per cent appreciate the frustrations of the New Springs residents. It is not something I am happy about and I want to save the building and put it to use for the benefit of everybody.

"But I am firefighting with several other premises at the moment. I’ve got tenants who are not paying and others who are coming out of buildings.

"I have premises that need improving so that new tenants can move in and keep things going.

"However there is also the question of astronomical labour costs. I had to pay £350 for a plumber for one day recently. I'm sure he’s worth every penny but you see the problem.”

And as to the uses for St John’s? Five years ago, Mr Jones was hopeful of turning at least part of the building into a nursery with ambitions also to create a community centre of some kind.

But the nursery that showed interest never came back after the pandemic. Hopes that a housing estate might be built behind the school, which would handily involve the creation of a road the premises could use, came to nothing because the land is riddled with old mineworkings.

Mr Jones said that he had recently been in talks about the premises being used for youngsters with behavioural challenges and there had been a separate inquiry regarding its being used for adults with special needs. Both of those are currently being looked at by the council.

He said: “In the meanwhile both St John’s and Bridge 63 are weatherproofed and work has been carried out inside. I had interest from a film company that wanted to use the school for location shooting but that came to nothing in the end.

"I don't intend to sit on it forever. I really don’t want to knock it down and sell it for housing if I can help it either.”