Wigan Council decides to sell off office space after switch to working from home

A decision to sell Progress House has been made by Wigan Council in order to recoup money from the sale, as well as saving on maintenance and holding costs. The Westwood Park site is a three-storey office space for various businesses in the area that has seen a reduction in users since the pandemic hit back in 2020, the council explained.

Aidan Thatcher, director for place at Wigan Council, said: “Progress House has previously been used to provide office space for a range of council services.

“Following the Covid pandemic, ways of working have changed and as we have moved out of the pandemic, the council has continued to adopt more flexible working arrangements, meaning that less office space is needed.

“A decision has therefore been made to sell Progress House, with staff and services based there being relocated to other council offices within the town centre to ensure there is no disruption to service delivery.”

In the decision notice published on the council website, the document stated that the alternative of keeping the site would only increase the financial burden.

When considering the alternative options, the council said in their decision notice: “The council has no current operational requirement for the property or to re-market the property, but this would add significant delay, incur holding costs and would be unlikely to offer any additional benefit/capital receipt to the Council.”

The asking price of the building, just a short distance from Wigan town centre, has not been disclosed by the council as it has been deemed commercially sensitive.

Wigan town centre employers have been criticised by retail and hospitality industry bosses in the last year for encouraging home-working.

They say that it has a massive impact on footfall and income and are encouraging bosses to get more staff back in the office.

The home-working trend accelerated when Covid struck and employers have found they can save a lot of money by maintaining such arrangements.

But workers are split on the subject, some finding it convenient and others saying it makes work harder while the isolation is mentally damaging.