WIGAN | Full Summary of Developments

[ferge]

The Grand Arcade Website has been updated with renders of the Mezzanine food court and updated construction pics, I've copied a few over onto here... shame that the cladding is so... expectant, but I'm hopeful that inside will be a very nice mall indeed..










The 'Mezz'

[ferge]

And regardless of it not being a Gehry or somet... It still completely baffles me how some locals would still it be this in the location.... than what they're building.



Anon "the new Tower design has a remarkable resemblance to a Hypodermic Syringe..

A sign of Modern Times perhaps"

Anon2 "Small market town is what it is, not a place for commerical apartments what look like something out of a Sci-fi film."

[Accura4Matalan]

The cladding on the GA is actually much better than I'd expected

[ferge]

Seems Wigan really want this, naturally...

cricket bid facing its final test
A council meeting next month should settle once and for all whether Wigan has any chance of becoming the new home to north west Test match cricket.
Only weeks ago the borough was harbouring serious hopes of hosting a new ground for Lancashire County Cricket Club, after the poor state of Old Trafford prompted fears that the club would lose its lucrative Test status.
It had three options – to stay put and redevelop the present site, move to a suggested plot near the City of Manchester Stadium or come to Wigan.
The first two ideas appeared both too costly and difficult through lack of space for extra revenue-generating businesses on campus.
Meanwhile, Wigan was not only the cheapest option, but also offered 25 acres of space, most probably at Bryn, and much closer to motorway links to all parts of Lancashire than the other two sites.
But at a press conference earlier this month, the ruling Conservative group on Trafford Borough Council announced a package of measures aimed at keeping the club just where it was.
In order to generate sufficient funds to keep LCCC in Trafford, the ruling group said it was prepared to vacate its current 70-year-old town hall across the road from the ground to move to new civic buildings.
The proceeds of the sale, and possibly the site itself, would be given over to the club.
A new ground, built gradually on the same site while keeping the pitch – and games – in situ, could then be built within two or three years.
Trafford Council has signed an exclusivity agreement with LCCC, stopping negotiations with other bidders, including Wigan.
But the matter has yet to be ratified by the full council.
Trafford originally stated that a decision would be made at a full council meeting last Wednesday, but now a special meeting has been called for June 7 to discuss this single issue.
Opposition councillors on the Labour and Liberal Democrat benches are opposed to selling the town hall.
But, even if all of them vote against the idea, the Conservatives would still need eight rebels to defect if they are to lose the vote and give Wigan fresh hope.
29 May 2006

[ferge]

From the 6th of the 11th



to the 11th of the 6th



Closer look at cladding



Really impressed with the cladding on the roadside, its beyond the expectations I had from the model they showed..can't wait to see the tower if it to be of a similiar style

and some other random photies from today, including the mill conversion

[Mez]

Cheers Ferg. Nice to have a wigan contact in here.

[ferge]

Shoppers at Wigan's newest arcade are to be treated to a taste of Wigan Casino.
The Casino Cafe eating area will take pride of place in the £120m Grand Arcade shopping centre, close to the site where the famous soul club once stood.



The arcade is due to open next year.

Russ Winstanley, legendary Northern Soul DJ, said: "I think it's a great compliment.

"We have never had anything to mark the fact the Casino was once there so I'm very happy."

Interior designers from developers Modus have been liaising with Russ and former Casino regular and renowned local artist David Barrow about how best to remember the nightclub.

Classic photographs, paintings by David and a memorabilia cabinet are all being planned for inclusion in the eating area which will feature the original Casino-style lettering on its frontage.

Russ also hopes to have a soul-themed grand opening which could mean the strains of Dean Parrish, Dobie Gray and Frank Wilson will be ringing around the site once again.

Russ said: "There has never been any sort of plaque to mark the spot, just a car park and temporary buildings.

"Modus has been good enough to speak to me and David so they deserve credit for recognising the Casino's importance."

One of the original ideas was to use an abstract concept but the interior designers finally opted for the style of Northern Soul which will be incorporated into a three-part eating area to be known as The Mezz.

Although the Casino itself never had a cafe, it did have a snack bar which specialised in Lucozade and Wigan pies and pasties.

Modus insist the new eaterie will be more up market, offering shoppers "the chance to relax in a contemporary environment".

Modus director, Tim Heatley, said: "Shoppers needed somewhere to eat and take a break in Wigan so we introduced The Mezz.

"It's a striking piece of architecture, sitting about 22ft in the air with the customers passing through it from the car park, making it unmissable.

"The way the gradient works, it is at eye level when you come in from the high street."
03 July 2006

Wonder if it will keep the moaners happy... erm.. probably not
I want the tower to start dammit!

[ferge]

Update on the Trencherfield Mill redevelopment, coined as the Wigan Heritage quarter..

The windows seem to be nearly fully fitted to the main building now, looks a little too 'clean' for the building but will likely get use to it.. The other apartment blocks seem to have begun too behind the mill, it seemed really nice sitting by the canal in this weather.. I'm really glad the Council and developers realised that this area needing some work and could be used as an extension to the Pier tourism area.. The whole area does stretch much further now and its great walking from the pier area to the mill, investment centre and newer buildings.. Hope they have somewhere to sit and have a drink by the canal, that would do great








I really hope it all proves successful and the neighbouring mills would get the same treatment, then the area would be massive and could be a lively part of town offering things we don't have, like more leisure facilities and places to eat out

[Sir Miles Platting]

I'm determined to visit Wigan Pier one day.
Ever since I read Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier about 25 years ago I've had a hankering to get over there.

I'm not what you'd call a compulsive type....

[ferge]

New render of the street level of the Modus Tower, the shopping centre opens in 6 days! Not keen on the smaller render mind, but hey.. its a start.

[ferge]

Wigan's Eastern promise revealed
Friday 15th June 2007



An artist's impression of the proposed 18-storey tower on the site of the former Millgate car park An ambitious blueprint for reviving Wigan town centre’s run down eastern fringes has been published by the council.

The area, newly christened the Eastern Gateway, includes some well-known buildings like the former police station, Wigan International Pool and the old town hall.

But in recent years much of it has gone into decline and according to the report is now characterised by vacant, derelict and underused sites and buildings.

Council planners have drawn up detailed guidance for developers, aimed at creating what they hope will become a ‘dynamic new district’ within walking distance of the town centre.

Already several bold plans are in the pipeline, including an eighteen storey tower on the site of the former Millgate car park.

The document is in draft form at this stage and planners are inviting members of the public to influence its final shape at a public drop-in session at the History Shop on Thursday June 28th.

Amongst some of the ideas being proposed are the reconfiguration of the junctions of Riverway and Millgate and Riverway and Darlington Street to provide ‘efficient and safe’ pedestrian and cyclist crossings of the busy A49.

Environmental improvements to the area also form a key part of the document. The potential to upgrade existing open spaces and waterways, including improved town centre access to the RiverDouglas, have been investigated.

Deputy council leader and cabinet regeneration champion,Cllr John O’Neill, commented:

“Our ultimate aim is to establish the Eastern Gateway as a dynamic new district within walking distance of Wigan town centre. The area has the potential to be radically transformed into a distinctive and diverse mixed use quarter, providing a catalyst for a new phase of regeneration in Wigan.

“This document provides an important contribution to the successful regeneration of the area in a situation where a number of different people will be bringing forward individual sites for development.”

The planning guidance states: “Whilst many areas of the town have seen dramatic and successful regeneration initiatives, the Eastern Gateway has been left largely neglected. The A49 ring road has acted as an unwelcome physical barrier to economic activity and investment.

“This has resulted in an underutilised quarter dominated by surface car parks, empty and dilapidated buildings and vacant and overgrown land.

“Stimulated by the recent approval for phase three of the Grand Arcade development, which includes a mixed use 18 storey tower block, the area has been receiving increased speculative development interest over recent months.

“The number of low intensity land uses in the area and the amount of vacant and derelict land, means that an excellent opportunity for the regeneration of the Eastern Gateway has arisen. The document seeks to build upon this opportunity and provide a clear design framework to guide and inform future development.”

The report calls for ‘bold, innovative buildings’ balanced with a need to protect the area’s ‘strong heritage qualities.’

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[ferge]

another big development which until now I didn't even know was in the planning process is the redevelopment of the old town hall (pictured a few posts above). The site is to be redeveloped with offices n apartments in the form of a 14 storey block which seems to mirror the modus Grand Tower (18 storeys) which will be directly across the road from it, meaning there is now a 'triangle' of new aparments blocks either side of the carraigeway.

Modus 'Grand Tower' - 18 storeys
Old Town Hall Apartments - 14 storeys
Goldcrest Old Police Hq Apartments - 13-15 storeys..

All next to some fairly alright commie blocks will give Wigan a bit of a skyline, I just hope these new buildings dont look too similiar to the commie blocks!

[ferge]

Just seen in today's local paper that the council have approved a new redevelopment of the swimming baths, library and council buildings which will sandwich the town hall, made front page and another full page, cant scan them but will search the net for some images of the projects.. will commence in september and be completed by 2011, another massive redevelopment alongside the Grand Arcade, Tower Grand appartment block and newly announced restaurant and bar/appartment building alongside. Area will be completely transformed.

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[ferge]

as mentioned, the new developments:

State of the art new library and pool for Wigan
Friday 8th February 2008 (ref: 37/2008)


Joint Service Centre: Artists' impressions of The Wiend (top), Wigan Pool (lower left), and Wigan Library (lower right). Wigan is to get a stunning new central library and swimming pool as part of plans to create a unique public service 'hub' that will revitalise the town’s civic heart.

The multi-million pound project – officially known as the Joint Service Centre (JSC) – will create a state of the art leisure, health and information complex including a new one stop shop for all public services.

After an exhaustive year-long selection process, councillors this week selected the Access consortium to design and build the centre, which will feature two iconic ‘landmark’ buildings.

The new 25m swimming pool and central library – including separate children’s and teenage libraries - have been designed by the same team responsible for Brighton Library, which has already won 17 design awards.

Services provided by the council and its housing and leisure partners, the police, the NHS, the fire service and community and voluntary groups will all be accessible under one roof.

A vital part of the project will link the service centre to a network of contact points, or ‘spokes’, in each of the borough’s ten townships across the borough, providing local face-to-face, phone or computer access to services.

The scheme will take over two years to build and will be located on the site of the Municipal Buildings (preserving the distinctive terracotta façade), the Wiend children’s library and International Pool.

It is being paid for using £67M of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) credits for which Wigan had to compete against more than 100 other councils. This means the private sector bears the initial building and running costs, which are paid back over 25 years using the government credits. Then the building belongs to the council.

Wigan Council Leader Peter Smith said: “By joining up public services in this way we’ll be able to sort out most people’s enquiries at the first point of contact. It will create truly accessible, high quality public services that put the customer first in all parts of our borough.”

He added: “This is one of the most ambitious council schemes being undertaken in the UK and we been able to prove beyond doubt that we are capable of delivering it successfully.”

The swimming pool, fitness centre and health and social care services will form a Healthy Living Zone, while the new central library on the site of the Municipal Buildings will lie at the heart of an Information and Learning Zone.

A Neighbourhood zone will bring together all the services involved in tackling crime and grime.

Work is likely to start in September this year and the whole complex will open for business in January 2011.

[oscar9]

Thanks for the updates ferge,I live near Wigan and am interested the see the progression of these new developments. Is there a start date for the Grande Arcade Tower,the site has been lying dormant for ages.

[ferge]

No worries, i'm not actually living in wigan anymore, so its hard to keep up to date with whats happening on site, and i dunno when they're meant to be starting the apartment tower, but there is another development on the site.. which i imagine they'll start as a phase II and the toer phase III perhaps, so maybe it could be some time..

[jrb]

This one got through. Pretty big. £137 mill on another site.

Wigan is to get a stunning new central library and swimming pool as part of plans to create a unique public service 'hub' that will revitalise the town’s civic heart.

The multi-million pound project – officially known as the Joint Service Centre (JSC) – will create a state of the art leisure, health and information complex including a new one stop shop for all public services.

After an exhaustive year-long selection process, councillors this week selected the Access consortium to design and build the centre, which will feature two iconic ‘landmark’ buildings.

The new 25m swimming pool and central library – including separate children’s and teenage libraries - have been designed by the same team responsible for Brighton Library, which has already won 17 design awards.

Services provided by the council and its housing and leisure partners, the police, the NHS, the fire service and community and voluntary groups will all be accessible under one roof.

A vital part of the project will link the service centre to a network of contact points, or ‘spokes’, in each of the borough’s ten townships across the borough, providing local face-to-face, phone or computer access to services.
The scheme will take over two years to build and will be located on the site of the Municipal Buildings (preserving the distinctive terracotta façade), the Wiend children’s library and International Pool.

It is being paid for using £67 million of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) credits for which Wigan had to compete against more than 100 other councils.

This means the private sector bears the initial building and running costs, which are paid back over 25 years using the government credits.

The building then belongs to the council.

Wigan Council Leader Peter Smith said: “By joining up public services in this way we’ll be able to sort out most people’s enquiries at the first point of contact.

“It will create truly accessible, high quality public services that put the customer first in all parts of our borough.”

He added: “This is one of the most ambitious council schemes being undertaken in the UK and we have been able to prove beyond doubt that we are capable of delivering it successfully.”

The swimming pool, fitness centre and health and social care services will form a Healthy Living Zone, while the new central library on the site of the Municipal Buildings will lie at the heart of an Information and Learning Zone.

“A Neighbourhood zone will bring together all the services involved in tackling crime and grime.

Work is likely to start in September this year and the whole complex will open for business in January 2011.

Rob Hann, Director for Legal Services at consultants 4ps, said: “Today’s announcement is excellent news for the people of Wigan.

“Joint service centres play an important role in helping local people gain better access to local services.

“4ps have supported Wigan Council throughout the development of the project enabling the council to secure the best funding package possible for their Joint Service Centre.

“We would encourage other local councils looking to embark on a joint service centre to follow Wigan's example.”

http://www.wigan.gov.uk/pub/council/...6/report08.htm

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