WIGAN | Full Summary of Developments

[oscar9]

Stick a Pooles pie in that bread,nowt like a meat n' tata pie barm

[Comdot]

Originally Posted by highriser

Comdot ,, can you put these type of threads in a Greater Manchester Sub Forum , because if im honest i could'nt give a shit what's going on in Stockport or Wigan

nah that makes no sense. there are actually some big projects in wigan and stockport, eckersley mills for instance, highriser.

there are other threads on minor stuff though that i wish was just posted in existing threads. i might go on an amalgamation drive soon... that's if i can keep up with the rate people make threads on these things.

[Comdot]

Originally Posted by oscar9

Stick a Pooles pie in that bread,nowt like a meat n' tata pie barm

if you're buying.

[fi]

i think the blocks of flats look much better with the cladding.Shame the residents have to look out over the eyesore they've been left with.the car park ramp looks terrible!

(in reply to comment about cladding colours)

[fi]

Originally Posted by ferge

and finally for the treble, stumbled across this on the planning portal..

as part of the Trencherfield 'Heritage Quarter', a 15 STOREY apartment block

ummmm lovely for the so called heritage quarter.will the materials used stay in a better condition than the wooden cladding used on the new apartments in the Trencherfield complex? allready looking shoddy.

[ferge]

Pool demolition.. I actually miss this building now its gone, it was one of the more visible buildings in the town centre. Nevermind, progress is being made!

[ferge]

Fi, I wouldn't worry too much about that rendering being that A) it is very crude and B) I'd put good money on that proposal being dead in the water.

As for the Flats, er.. wouldn't say it was a great improvement for the cost - a more natural use of materials and colours would've been far better I think, considering these blue tones are to 'blend' in with the other buildings - we don't have any blue buildings! As for the ramp, I don't see what is so bad about it?

[ferge]

A few snippets of news:

* A planning application has been submitted for a 3 storey addition to Trencherfield mill as part of the Heritage Way, I'll add pictures soon but it is black-rendered, glazed and has a cor-ten steel canopy along with new landscaping - looks reasonable!
*The playing field near Wigan college is being duck up by archeologists (apparently) before plans are approved for a new Youth Centre
* It seems a new relief road is being proposed out of Wigan town centre between Pottery road and the Saddle junction to ease traffic leaving town, it'll go through the bus depot (has they're planning on moving to a new location).

[WatcherZero]

I guess they will make that bypass one way and make the original road one way as well. Would make the building in the middle of saddle junction dwarfed by a new 'roundabout'.
Im still hoping the Youth Centre isnt approved, good idea but wrong location, should have been on the cricket ground itself or a different site.

[ferge]

The crane has gone up on the South site (The Pool), I can't find me camera charger so my camera is redundant! I'll get a webcam shot mind tomorrow. It's a bittersweet sight mind, because it's nextdoor to the Tower Grand site, and you can't help thinking when stood in the town centre that the crane would have likely been the height of the block.

But, as they say, 'Wigan is changing'

[WatcherZero]

Yeah its a pity, 3 sites where towers were proposed:
Tower Grand
Former Town Hall
Former Police HQ

And nothing come of any of them due to recession, Chinamex also fell through leaving the Westwood Business Park lonely with only the brand new council offices (though council workers dont like working there as the climate controls screwy, too hot in summer and cold in winter), doesnt look like anything much is happening at the mill location which had its slate tiles swiped. The former bakers demolition was completed without the cleanup leaving that massive site available just outside the Town centre. Northern Crescent town centre redevelopment has had no news since the Public Consultation two years ago, likely quietly sitting on the schemes awaiting a developer pile.

Only new development seems to be the Mayors Boat House office conversion and several road improvements south of the town centre, Full Town Centre ring road (Frog Lane stretch) apparantly approved as well though not seen any movement on that.

[WatcherZero]

And after I posted that last night todays paper frontpage was a Isle of Mann developer had bought 8 former modus sites and was quoted as saying 'we dont leave property idle' though hinting they might downgrade the development or introduce 'safe and reliable food retailing' (which im sure anything bigger than a Metro store would be blocked) they said they were always open to scaling the project back up again even if midway through planning/application process for a different development if the market picked up.

[ferge]

Aces, I soooo hope they press ahead with a tall building, the site needs a tall building because of its location on the fringe of the town centre, also to cover the car park of the Grand Arcade and to put that final piece of the jigsaw after the pool is built.

Typical Wigan Evening Posts commentators are all on their usual, tiresome campaign to stop anything new being built.. 'We don't want shops and apartments', 'An ugly tower', etc etc etc... Pathetic little curtain twitchers.

Anyway, some webcam shots from this morning.

pool site


Library site

[ferge]

Might as well put the said article in there too..

Plans to build on Tower site



11 March 2010
By Charles Graham

A project which symbolised Wigan's plunge into recession is back on.
Out of the blue last night it was announced that the site earmarked for the high-rise Tower Grand building in the town centre has been bought by developers.

They intend either to press ahead with the plan or replace it with some other economy-boosting venture.

Tower Grand was to have been the next phase of Wigan's ambitious Grand Arcade shopping centre and planning permission had been granted to then owner/developers Modus to create multi-storey flats, offices and hotel at the bottom of Millgate.

But in 2008 the scheme was put on ice as the housing market floundered and then last year debt-ridden Modus went into administration.

But now Scarborough Development Group has emerged as the new owner of the land - one of eight former Modus sites across the country bought from the administrators for a total of £37m. And its bosses say they are not in the business of letting their land go idle.

Full story in today's (Thursday) Wigan Evening Post ...

SDG managing director Mark Jackson said that these were early days and options remain open for which course will be taken. But they would not have bought the land if they weren't planning to put it to good use.

He said: "We do not want to commit ourselves to one particular project at this early stage. It may be that we wait a short while and decide that the original plan has become a goer.

"Or we may come up with alternative ideas, perhaps incorporating food retail - which has proved to be a defensive market throughout the recession.

There may be planning processes and it is not inconceivable that we apply for something different only to discover that by the time the planning process is complete the Tower Grand option has become viable again.

"But we are keen to develop the site, that is for sure. We are not in the habit of buying sites then just sitting on them. It's not what we do."

and 'said comments'

another big glass and metal box

Wigan's version of the ugly Beetham Tower in Manchester?

Why not build some more shops so we can have even more empty ones in the town centre?

"Or we may come up with alternative ideas, perhaps incorporating FOOD RETAIL" - Fantastic, just what Wigan needs, more fast food outlets. Perhaps Dave Whelan could open up a late night Poole's Pie shop.

When will they learn,there is nothing wrong with old buildings they lasted a lot longer than these new eye sore high rise buildings ever will,when i go shpping i want the sun shine on me not the shadow of one of these,well cant say what i want to say about them

Agree with Kevin Davies. I would rather the older buildings they look much nicer than these characterless unsightly shower of glass and steel buildings. Keep these ugly buildings in Manchester.

Who wants to live next to a car park,offices and a shopping centre

[ferge]

Steel frame has started to be erected (bottom of site)

[ferge]

I'll try and get some site shots soon now I've refound my charger


18-03-10

[WatcherZero]

As a side note, that building in the top right is the library where Orwell wrote The Road to Wigan Pier.

[ferge]

Originally Posted by WatcherZero

As a side note, that building in the top right is the library where Orwell wrote The Road to Wigan Pier.

Yup yup, recently refurbed n turned into our new museum

[WatcherZero]

Thankfully dropping the previous name 'History Shop', centuries old library and they had the gall to name it a history 'SHOP'.

[ferge]

Today's webcam screenshot



Also, the new insulation and cladding can be seen spreading across the front of the multi-storey council block in the background - the last of the 6 (I think) buildings that have been renovated.