Work begins on building homes on Wigan pub's former beer garden

Excavators have moved onto the land next to the Old Springs on Spring Road, Orrell, as work to create homes and flats gets under way.

The development has been long in gestation. Plans were first submitted for six homes and eight apartments in June 2021 after the pub’s owners sold off the land.

Backing onto the mammoth Heinz factory, for decades it was home to pristine bowling greens and more recently had been used as a beer garden, hosting charity events.

But since the sell-off, the site has become increasingly overgrown and unsightly.

Plant machinery made light work of the grass, foundation work is now taking place and kerbstones for the entrance to the site have been laid.

A local resident said: “It was a shame when they sold off the beer garden land. It was a real asset and was used for all kinds of fun family events, including charity fund-raisers and concerts.

"But since then, when the land has been sold off and untouched, it has become something of an eyesore, so in a way it’s good to see something happening there at last and the land being put to good use.”

The Old Springs is one of Wigan’s more senior watering holes. Dating back to at least the mid-19th century, it was the local for music hall legend George Formby Snr who lived on a farm where the Heinz factory now sits, and hosted inquests in Victorian times.