Wigan Council cabinet to debate Galleries masterplan

The local authority purchased the nine-acre site, which includes Makinson Arcade and the Marketgate Shopping Centre, in 2018 for £8m after years of retailers’ exiting the premises.

It wants to reverse the decline of the mall, accounts for almost a quarter of Wigan town centre’s footprint, with plans which could include residential, leisure, food and drink uses, office space and a new market.

A formal procurement process is now under way and the council is expecting to select a development partner to deliver its £125m vision later this year.

A meeting of the cabinet was being held today which aims to flesh out details of the scheme.

This will include an update to the cabinet on the procurement process and selection of a strategic development partner to secure a full revamp of the Galleries site, as well as an overview of the preferred scheme.

It comes after Becca Heron, the town hall’s director of economy and skills, told a scrutiny committee that it would take a minimum of seven years for this vision to become a reality and warned councillors that the journey will be “long” and “frustrating”.

The council director said the local authority purchased the shopping centre in 2018 as part of a presentation on the future of Wigan town centre.

She said the site had a high vacancy rate, partly due to surplus retail space and that a “long-term solution” was needed.

The Galleries has struggled to fill all its units for years, its fortunes subsiding markedly with the opening of the Grand Arcade in 2007 and the ensuing recession.

The council is looking to take a similar approach to the regeneration of Leigh town centre by publishing a strategic regeneration framework. The local authority was due to start a consultation exercise just before lockdown.

Its investment priorities for the £4m Believe in Leigh funding were set out in February and include youth provision, safety, walking and cycling. Investment in Pennington Flash, the Civic Square and Leigh Market have also near the top of the agenda.

Ms Heron said the council is taking a more “strategic” and “holistic” approach to all town centres, but it cannot commission strategic regeneration frameworks for them all.

The cabinet meeting is due to take place at 4pm at Wigan town hall.

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