Wigan is set to benefit from a large scale commercial development scheme, with proposals by Vale Retail expected to be approved next week.
Designed by Edinburgh based Comprehensive Design Architects and covering a total of 500,000 sq ft, the £60 million development will see The Galleries Shopping Centre partially demolished in order to make way for a new retail and leisure hub which will be known as the Makinson Quarter.
As well as re-establishing the town’s old street pattern, this will create space for fewer, but larger, retail units, along with a cinema, a gym and numerous restaurant units.
Under the plans, the Victorian Makinson Arcade will be preserved, but will be refurbished to provide an updated façade and interior which Vale Retail predicts will prove more popular with consumers.
However, another aspect – the removal of Wigan market to a new site fronting Woodcock Street and Market Street – has proven contentious, prompting 113 residents and business owners to lodge complaints with the local council.
Adrian Oliver of Vale Retail argues that the new location would prove to be profitable for stall owners as well as new retailers in the Makinson Quarter.
He says; “By returning to Market Street, the markets will be in a much busier location with a 55 metre long, double storey, glazed entrance to the indoor market hall at street level opposite the bus station. Another entrance will be through the Makinson Arcade.”
The market’s relocation has not been the only bone of contention which has arisen in the face of Vale Retail’s plans, though, as bosses at the rival shopping centre, The Grand Arcade, have spoken out in opposition to the plans. They believe that the creation of any new facilities for Wigan town centre “would be best secured through the extension” of their shopping centre, and are expected to submit rival plans in due course.
Nevertheless, Wigan planning officers have recommended that Vale Retail’s proposals are approved at the council meeting next week, believing that this course of action is the most realistic and deliverable solution to the issues facing The Galleries. At present, 63 of The Galleries’ 147 retail units lie empty, giving the centre an occupancy rate of just 58 per cent.
In their report, planning officers said; “The proposals represent a very significant and vitally important private investment within the town centre, which will specifically address the decline and high level of vacant units within The Galleries.
“This development is an exciting opportunity for the town centre to enhance its reputation of being a vibrant place to live and work.”
