There are several huge developments that could start to materialise in the Wigan borough over the course of 2024, which could see hundreds of new homes brought to the area.
Major redevelopments of Eckersley Mill and the town centre are two key changes Wiganers could start to see materialise in the coming months. The mill is really starting to make waves after launching their ‘Feast at The Mills’ – with a complete overhaul of the historic mill going on just next door.
Just a few hundred metres away from Swan Meadow Road is the huge redevelopment of The Galleries, where building work is actually expected to start next year.
The demolition phase of the £135m project is expected to be completed in early 2024, with construction to start just after that. As part of the first phase of works a new market hall will be created as well as a six screen, 700 seat cinema, multi-lane bowling alley, indoor mini golf, a climbing wall and a wide range of other indoor leisure activities.
Another big project for Wigan Council is the transformation of Haigh Hall into a five-floor culture, arts, education and leisure facility. The £39m project has already started following the £20m cash injection from the Levelling Up fund in early 2023 – it is expected to be complete in around three years time.
Over in the south of the borough, it is housing that is very much on the minds of residents, with projects of over 1,000 new homes going to the planning committee in the early portion of the new year. Both the 1,050 homes for Mosley Common and the 146 homes planned for Moss Bank Nurseries in Leigh are expected to be decided on very soon.
The decision from the planning committee could decide whether thousands of new residents will flood the area around Leigh. There is also hope of a new train station for Golborne, which could get the green light from the government in the new year.
Here is a breakdown of all the projects expecting to see progress in 2024…
Eckersley Mill redevelopment
Three historic mills on the Eckersley complex will be redeveloped into more than 800 apartments and a 120 bedroom hotel – just a stone’s throw away from Wigan town centre.
The site off Swan Meadow Road will now see Mill 1, 2 and 3 have all had redevelopment plans approved. Once complete, a total of 817 homes, a five-storey hotel with 120 bedrooms as well as a complex for leisure activities would be on the site.
A Mackie Mayor style food hall, a roller rink and a new public piazza are all part of the proposals from Heaton Group – who plan to put their new office on site as well.
The mill complex was a key part of the cotton revolution after being built between 1883 and 1920. At its height of production in the mid-1920’s, the mills contained some 253,000 spindles and 1,687 looms and employed more than 3,000 workers, forming one of the largest integrated textile production sites in the country.
When the last application went through in the latter part of 2023, managing director John Heaton, said: “This is a big moment for us and for the town. We have spent nearly five years putting together a very exciting and ambitious plan.
“We’ve spoken to residents and key stakeholders from the council, Homes England and Historic England and the local MP to explain our thoughts and take in their comments and feedback. For us as a Wigan-based business we know that this site has been neglected for far too long and our plans will bring new life to an important site.
“They will provide significant benefits for the whole town, providing high quality facilities everyone will be able to enjoy.”
The Galleries
Those who frequent the town centre of Wigan will be all too used to the demolition works going on at the old Galleries site as they go about their daily tasks – but that is soon to end.
Demolition works are due to be completed in the early part of 2024 and progress on the £135m redevelopment would see a new market hall created as well as a six screen, 700 seat cinema, multi-lane bowling alley, indoor mini golf, a climbing wall and a wide range of other indoor leisure activities. The Multi Media Centre (MMC) is the first phase of the development which was given the green light by planning officers recently.
Following the first phase of works, 483 homes across seven new residential buildings will be constructed, as well as a 144-bedroom hotel and a retirement living complex.
Before any of this can be built though, an archaeological investigation needs to take place as the earthworks may destroy or disturb any surviving archaeological remains.
The latest milestone for the development came with the approval of the MMC this year, with the planning committee unanimously supporting the plan put forward by Cityheart in collaboration with Wigan Council.
Warren Taylor, development director at Cityheart said back in July: “The MMC is a key element of the wider Galleries redevelopment scheme and is central to the realisation of our vision to create a thriving mixed-use, town centre neighbourhood where people can spend time relaxing with family and friends.
“The MMC will help boost the local economy by drawing people into the town centre from across the region and will attract people of all ages who want to live in the town centre. Providing great leisure facilities will in turn help us secure the best operators and food and drink brands and we look forward to starting to announce some of those additional tenants later this year.
“Alongside the new market hall and food courts people will be able to spend their leisure time at the MMC watching the latest films and enjoying bowling, climbing, gaming and eating and drinking in a range of new bars and restaurants and we’re excited to achieve the next stage of delivering this transformational scheme for Wigan.”
Coun David Molyneux MBE, leader of Wigan council added: “This is another really exciting milestone in the redevelopment of the Galleries. The demolition works are well underway, and this planning permission sets out what we are planning to build, delivering an exciting and vibrant redevelopment in the heart of our town centre.
“This approval today sets out how this redevelopment will look and feel, bringing this inspiring future for our town centre to life. With plans for a cinema, bowling alley, mini golf, climbing wall and lots more, we are taking proactive steps to bring new life and opportunities to our town, attracting investment, and ensuring it is a thriving and vibrant place for people to choose to live, work, study and visit.”
Haigh Hall
The historic building within the Haigh Woodland Park is iconic for most Wiganers – but has sat fairly unused publicly for years.
Thanks to £20m from the government’s Levelling Up scheme, work has already started on the exterior of the building, with rigorous efforts to clean the tired green bricks already evident. The overall project looks to bring it back to its former glory, and is estimated to cost £39m in total.
The five-floor building will boast a wealth of culture, arts, education and leisure facilities once work is complete – in around three years’ time.
Works will kick-on internally in 2024, with plans to bring a cinema room in the basement; an underground bar; a rooftop terrace; and an observatory are all being constructed. The hall will also be home to some of the finest artworks in the world once more.
Walking through the grand halls gives you a real sense of history. With Theodore Major’s visionary work from across 70 years – worth around £200m – secured, Haigh Hall will once again be filled with treasure.
Behind the project is international artist and filmmakers AL and AL, who are taking creative control of the vision for the council.
The hall, built in around 1840, stands proud in the picturesque surroundings of Haigh Woodland Park. The stately hall, once owned by the Earls of Crawford and Balcarres, towers over the country park, which brings in thousands of visitors every month.
Golborne Station
Plans for a new train station in Golborne have taken another step forwards at the back end of 2023.
The new year is likely to see locals engaged in providing a final draft of the plan for the station which is still pending a government sign off. The proposals would see the new train station built in the corner of Wigan – bringing better public transport connectivity to the borough.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is working with Wigan Council and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to deliver what would be the city-region’s first new railway station in more than 20 years.
This project would form a key role in the Bee Network and highlight the GMCA’s ambitions to make local rail an integral part of the Bee Network by 2030. Public consultation is due to go live on January 4, 2024 to gather views on the proposed design of the station facilities and its links to the local area. It will also gather information from respondents about people’s potential future use of the station.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is hopeful that Golborne Station would become the Bee Network’s flagship station. He warned earlier this year that this project was no “pie in the sky” idea.
Mr Burnham said: “The first Bee Network buses under public control are already carrying passengers in Wigan and Bolton, with other areas across Greater Manchester joining by 2025.
“By 2030 we want local rail services to be part of the Bee Network too and having a new station Golborne will mean that people in the area will be able to enjoy the better connectivity and all the opportunities that would bring.
“It’s now really important that everyone has an opportunity to have their say on ensuring that plans for the new Golborne station are shaped in the best possible way.”
Links to the proposed station would be provided by new walking and cycling routes, as well as existing bus services. Rail users, residents and businesses will be invited by TfGM to give their opinions on the scheme to ensure that local views are considered before a final business case is submitted to the government.
Back in January 2021, £16m was approved by Greater Manchester Combined Authority for the development and delivery of a new railway station at Golborne. An extra £1m has also been put on the table to establish the outline of the project, generate more proposals for funding, and scope how much it would cost to deliver and operate the development.
Mosley Common development
As one of the most controversial housing developments in the borough’s recent memory, the 1,050 homes planned for Mosley Common are sure to cause a stir at the beginning of 2024.
The site, based in the Tyldesley area, is set to go before the planning committee at the start of the new year. The original 1,100 home masterplan had been scaled down and split into two separate applications after it was green lit by Wigan Council in September 2022.
The application to go before the committee will mean building work can start, if approved. The new plan will now have two sites on either side of the Leigh Guided Busway.
Peel L&P’s massive plans were reduced by 50 homes as the developer seeks to build a new community submerged within biodiverse green space.
The plans submitted for the land north of Mosley Common will connect the northern and southern section of the site – ‘Twire’ – creating extensive parkland and pedestrian routes throughout the area. Peel L&P also has ambitions to include sports and play facilities as well as a new green corridor to bring ‘ecological improvements’ to the area with an extensive new parkland including three new parks.
Currently the land north of Mosley Common, in Tyldesley, is used as grazing space for farm animals and agriculture. Sitting on the border of Wigan and Salford, this would be one of the key developments included in the Places For Everyone – a Greater Manchester wide plan which has been submitted to the Secretary of State for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
As well as 25 per cent affordable homes, there are plans for a new transport hub in partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester to improve connectivity and active travel via the Leigh Guided Busway and commuter routes. As part of the 1,050-home proposal, 202 homes planned for ‘Twire’ below the transport hub are suitable for first time buyers, families, older people with additional care needs and those looking to downsize.
Concerns around traffic and oversubscribed schools, GPs and dentists have all been aired by objectors. However, Peel has put forward plans for traffic improvement works as well as funding for increasing school places in the area.
Moss Bank Nurseries
After a decision on the plan for 146 homes on the old Moss Bank Nurseries site was deferred – the development will finally be decided at planning committee in the early part of 2024.
Following a back and forth planning committee in December, votes to approve and refuse the development failed – which was unprecedented for committee chair Coun Paul Kenny. This meant that no decision was made and it was kicked down the road to a planning committee in early 2024 (provisionally pinned for February).
If approved by the planning committee the Hooten Lane site would be demolished by Bellway Homes and replaced with houses with “an attractive green gateway.
The application had previously been for 158 homes, but consultation responses led to the developers reducing the scheme by 12 homes. Proposals for the site would be split into two phases which will allow for Phase 1 to be delivered as housing while the nurseries are relocated to other premises.
Once the nurseries are vacant Phase 2 can then be delivered which will involve the demolition of the outbuildings. For objectors, increased traffic congestion on an already busy Warrington Road is a big concern.
They believe the mix of two, three and four-bedroom homes could lead to road safety issues and the creation of rat runs in the surrounding residential streets.
Because only 12 homes are penned for affordable housing, not meeting the 25 per cent criteria, Bellway Homes will have to provide just over £40,000 in Section 106 contributions. This would go towards signal work at the ChapelStreet/Warrington Road junction, a study on the risk of rat runs and travel plan framework.
