Second bid to turn former Wigan Council building into eight flats

Planning permission was granted in April 2021 for Gateway House, on Standishgate, Wigan, to be converted into eight apartments.

The four-storey block would be refurbished and converted into two-bedroom apartments, with two per floor.

One of the conditions of planning approval was that work must be completed within three years.

And now – three years later – another application has been submitted to Wigan Council’s planning department for the scheme.

The application form says the site is in a “predominantly residential area”, there are no known flood risks and there will be no impact on highways.

A consultation period is now under way and the council expects to make a decision by June 16.

The building was home to the council’s education department until it relocated to Wigan Life Centre in 2012.

The site was first put up for sale in 2011 as hard-pressed council bosses struggled to balance the books.

It lies in Dicconson Conservation Area and was formerly occupied by the Convent of Notre Dame and Notre Dame High School for Girls.

Gateway House has been the subject of several planning applications over the years.

In 2018, proposals were submitted to demolish the building and replace it with an assisted living complex for elderly people with dementia. That application was approved by the council, but did not come to fruition.

It was followed by the initial plans to turn the offices into flats, which were approved in 2021.