Transformation of Wigan Pier area moves closer

More detailed plans have been submitted for the transformation of what was once the largest cotton production site in the north west in the famous Wigan Pier area. Redevelopment plans were approved in 2023 for two of the three historic mills at the 57-acre Eckersley Mill site on Swan Meadow Road to become a complex with more than 800 apartments and a 120 bed hotel.

But a reserved matters application for ‘Block A’ has now been put forward. It will be the first new-build phase - a six storey apartment block built in an L-shaped plan accommodating 179 one and two bedroom apartments along with cycle and refuse storage at ground level. The Block A development is a ‘key element’ of the wider masterplan for the site and would bring about ‘significant regeneration benefits’ with key heritage assets retained.

Planning consultants Paul Butler Associates on behalf of Wigan-based applicant The Heaton Group describe the complex as ‘a substantial group of Grade II listed mills' built between 1883 and 1920 which now lies in the Wigan Pier Conservation Area. “The site is considered to be in a highly sustainable location for new development and will make the most efficient use of an underutilised brownfield site on the edge of Wigan town centre,” the planning statement says.

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The delivery of the scheme means that the Grade II-listed Mill 2 will be demolished along with some of the buildings which form part of the Swan Meadow Industrial Estate, including the surviving part of a weaving shed extension. Block A will be the focal point of the new build development being positioned between Mills 1 and 3, the statement says.

A design and access statement submitted by architect firm Fletcher Rae says: “The council’s aim is to redefine the Wigan Pier quarter not as somewhere on the edge of the town but as a place with its own centre of gravity and its own clear identity intended to revive the area helping growth and restoring community.”

It goes on: “The recent regeneration plans for the Galleries in the town centre and ongoing regeneration of the Wigan Pier area will add positively to the town.

“The walk between the town centre and the site is predominated by busy roads. However, movement through this space is helped by some green areas, some of which have been recently constructed and the approach to the site includes the improving Wigan Pier area.”

Vehicles will access the site via Pottery Terrace and on foot using the public realm area of Mill 1. Proposals also include 54 parking spaces, including four for disabled motorists and six electric vehicle charging points.