Northern soul: an overdue focus on Wigan

Since George Orwell described Wigan as a place where “nothing existed except smoke, shale, ice, mud, ashes and foul water”, the town’s council have been trying to reposition its reputation. It’s been a slow process – work only began ten years ago; 50 years after ’The Road to Wigan Pier’ was published - but it’s paid off and now the ‘new’ Wigan is finally taking shape.

Following £30m of government investment secured in 1993, Wigan has developed a solid regeneration plan, which will span the next ten years. The main focus of the development is in the Wigan Pier Quarter on the edge of the town centre and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the European Regional Development Fund. Spanning 25 acres and encompassing a number of separate projects, the site’s completion date is yet to be announced but, since the recession has put the brakes on speculative building, it’s unlikely to be for another few years.

That said, the one project within the site that has been completed – Trencherfield Mill - is very impressive. This beautifully restored waterside mill, opened last year with 252 apartments, 57,595sq ft of office space, a 9,815sq ft retail unit and 7,000sq ft of cafe and retail units. Properties in the Trencherfield Mill site are selling for around £135,000 for a two-bedroom apartment and can earn up to £700 per month in rent. It is exactly the sort of development Wigan needs more of in order to turn its reputation around – something that could happen if the other plans go ahead.

These other plans include planning permission for another mill restoration – Eckersley Mills Complex – which is estimated to cost £100m and provide industrial units, apartments, a large hotel and canal marina. Two British Waterways sites – Mayors Boatyard and a depot – could be turned into either offices, an art gallery or a restaurant and pub. Meanwhile, a large site that was once home to B&Q has been earmarked for a mixed-use or commercial development.

Outside of The Pier Quarter, there is further development. The Grand Arcade shopping centre opened last year and has attracted a range of high street names including Debenhams, Marks & Spencer and HMV. It holds late night shopping, fashions shows and children’s events and recently won an award for its eco scheme, which made it the first shopping centre to become carbon neutral.

The Grand Arcade complements the council’s Buy Local campaign, which encourages residents to spend their money in Wigan, rather than traveling to Manchester or Liverpool. The campaign has been responsible for introducing a Christmas fair, German market, street entertainment and children’s activity days during the school holidays.

“It’s not about competing with Manchester or Liverpool” says Martin Kimber of Wigan Council. “This is about providing good quality local services to residents and in turn, increasing Wigan’s attractiveness to outside investors and visitors.”

Local businesses have been crucial to Wigan’s success, helping to organise fundraising events and retail promotions. Last September, Wigan Council and Tidy Britain launched the Tidy Business campaign and this April, various local businesses took to the streets to pick up rubbish, plant hanging baskets and paint signs.
Outside of the town centre, there is also a buzz. To the south east of the town, Leigh Sports Village is 90 percent complete – though it is open – and includes a 10,000 seat stadium, a 400m running track, a 150 bedroom hotel and office space.

A mile outside of Wigan town centre is Pemberton Business Park, a new serviced office block, with office space for two to five people from £200-400 per month and industrial units from 500-1,500sq ft for £200 per month. Another business hub, Westwood Park, provides around 57,000sq ft of office space and has attracted the attention of an undisclosed Chinese textiles manufacturer, which according to Wigan Council “will be the largest single Chinese investment in the UK” if it goes ahead.

For a town to welcome visitors there needs to be good access – something Wigan council has also tackled. Planning permission has been approved for both Wigan Inner Relief Route to service the city centre and a new road scheme from Westwood Park to the M6. There is also a new bus route in the pipe line to link the south side of the town with Salford. The council has added parking in the town centre and there is a long term strategy to integrate the two railway station, Wigan Wallgate and Wigan North. The scheme will include parking, a bus interchange and pedestrian routes that will connect with the Pier Quarter development.

With 12.1 percent of Greater Manchester’s population living in Wigan, unemployment at 3.2 percent and weekly wage rates well below the national average, this new business and development is essential if Wigan is to complete its transformation. The council, much to its credit, has taken a holistic approach to the regeneration. They have developed the What Makes Wigan Work strategy, which – among other services – provides vocational training, personal development and business-start up help. A total of £21m in government funding has been allocated for the next three years to implement the plans.

 The council is working closely with the private sector – the biggest employer in the borough – to encourage skills training and development. They also worked with Job Centre Plus to create a skills shop to support the unemployed, provide training and develop their skills. The scheme is responsible for putting 700 unemployed people in to work and a similar shop has been replicated in Leigh Sports Village.

 Leigh recently attracted the attention of the press when Labour and Leigh MP, Andy Burnham, stepped in to push forward development in the area. Bickershaw Colliery was due to be developed in to 650 homes, a new marina and commercial space. When the project was delayed due to funding, Burnham urged housing minister Margaret Beckett to release more funds – she did and the work has now restarted, providing much needed employment for locals.

 More good news came for the area in June this year when £8.4m of funding from the Northwest Development Agency was committed to rejuvenate eight former coal mining communities in the north west – including Wigan. The money will be used to target the health service, educational achievement, employment levels and housing.

“Wigan has changed an awful lot in the five years I have been working with the council,” says Kimber. “It wasn’t the sort of place you would associate with loft-style apartments and waterfront living but now we’re moving forward. We’re not just thinking regionally – we’re thinking internationally.”

Wigan has received funding and support most boroughs could only dream of and it has made the best use of it, both economically and socially. However, this is a time when investors want to be sure of the rewards before they take risks and it is this that could slow down the town’s progress. Then again, if Wigan can maintain its can-do attitude and integrated approach, it might just be enough to see it through these uncertain times and onto the rewards it deserves.