The new food hall, tap room and offices coming to a Greater Manchester town

A trio of cotton mills in the heart of Wigan which once housed more than 253,000 cotton spindles during its peak is to be completely restored into a new neighbourhood consisting of a food hall, taproom, office space, and apartments.

Once nicknamed ‘spindle town’ for its abundance of spinning mills where, in the late 1800s, almost half of Wigan’s population were employed at one of the town’s textile mills, the Eckersley Mill on Swan Meadow Road played a big part in the industrial heritage of Wigan.

Besides a brief period of time as a go-kart and paintball centre, the three mills, which date back to the late 1800s and now have Grade II-listed status, have mostly lay dormant since the 1970s. But they are now set to be brought back to life - and it is hoped that, by this time next year, they will once again serve as a cultural beacon for the town.

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As part of a huge £200m project from Wigan-based family-run developers Heaton Group, work is now underway on transforming the mills - which form part of a 17 acre site - into a place where residents and visitors can live, socialise, work and enjoy good food.

The plan is to turn one of the mills into 137 flats with a mix of one to three-bed homes. Nearby, there will also - further down the line - be some new builds in the form of penthouse-style homes with private terraces as well as a retirement home.

But for Mill One, as it’s currently referred to as, the four-floor building will feature a huge food hall, a taproom and brewery, office space and a rooftop cocktail bar. Those behind the ambitious project say it’s just what the town needs - and something that residents have been longing for.

“Mill One will be the main anchor point for the whole development,” Simon Anderson, who is working on the hospitality aspect of the project alongside Heaton Group, told the M.E.N. “There is 20,000 square feet of space on each floor. The ground floor will be a food hall and a taproom, then there will be three floors of office space.

“The rooftop will be used as a co-working area as well as a rooftop cocktail bar and events space. It will have amazing views of the town, as well as looking out onto the hills and countryside around us.”

Whilst it is too early to say which traders will be joining the bar space and food hall, which could cater up to 400 diners at once, Simon says the developers have learnt a lot from their recent weekend street food set-up Feast at The Mills. Launched last year, the pop-up area features four food traders and two bars, as well as a stage for live music and takeover events.

“Every weekend is surpassing the last in terms of popularity,” Simon says of the pop-up. “It’s a really good atmosphere, so we want to follow the same pattern as Feast. We want as many local traders, as well as those from Greater Manchester and nearby, as possible and we want a real variety of things going on.

“On the taproom, we will be working with some local breweries and focusing on the good quality of beer that we’re very lucky to have here in the north. As we go into the weekends and evenings, we want to continue to focus on live music and performances. That’s something that’s worked really well for us, and Wigan has such a vibrancy and a rich heritage when it comes to music - it’s an important part of the town.”

Developers say they are confident that the project, currently nicknamed the Cotton Works, is just what the town needs - and demand is already there with the majority of the office space already pre-let. The food hall and tap room will be operated by Heaton’s hospitality company, and will be designed by the same team who created the look of the Arcade food hall at Battersea Power Station.

“From Battersea Power Station to Wigan,” Simon laughs. “The team behind the project have got this massive wealth of experience working with these amazing, old brick buildings. It’s a real labour of love for everyone involved.”

Due to the listed status of the mills, Simon admits undergoing a project of this scale has been complex. Plans for the third mill on the site are still up in the air due to its dilapidated status, but he insists they want to retain the character of each of the buildings whilst giving it a modern day purpose.

“We want to retain the heritage of the buildings,” he insists. “We have real brick arch construction and solid granite foundations here, we really want the industrial history and fabric of the building to be used alongside some new and modern touches. It’s important to have the history but to also reflect the new use.

“In other projects, you often find that you’re trying to recreate the feel of old buildings but here we’re trying to retain as much of the fabric of the building as possible.”

In that, Simon says the aim is to create something that reminds visitors that they’re in a historic building with a lot of significance to it, whilst still being comfortable, cosy and relaxed. Through speaking to residents throughout the early development stage, he says the project has so far gone down well.

“There’s a lot of pride here and the vast majority of people here are excited to see the work in motion,” he explains. “People here see these big developments take hold in other parts of Manchester or in Liverpool, and we’ve seen how venues like food halls can play a huge part in uplifting areas, so they often wonder why Wigan doesn’t always get the same love and attention.

“It’s a brave investment to make, it’s taking a lot of time and money, but we want to create something that people really take to their hearts and something that will become a really significant destination not only for Wigan but in the North West.”

In the meantime, Feast at The Mills will remain open throughout the year during weekends until the mills themselves are ready. The development is set to be completed by March 2025.