Heaton Group wins consent for Wigan mill conversion
Part of the grade two-listed Eckersley Mill complex will be transformed into a 100,000 sq ft commercial and leisure development following planning approval by the local council.
Wigan Council granted Heaton Group consent for the project, which includes the creation of a 22,000 sq ft food hall.
The developer acquired the site from Maryland Securities last year and lodged plans for the redevelopment of Mill One at the Eckersley Mill complex in September.
As well as the ground floor food hall, Heaton plans to convert the upper three floors into 80,000 sq ft of offices, as well as adding a rooftop extension to provide additional workspace.
The mill’s third floor would be used as offices for the developer once complete, according to planning documents.
At present, the building is occupied by a mix of leisure, warehousing and retail uses.
The project team for Heaton Group’s Eckersley Mill development includes Fletcher Rae as architect and Paul Butler Associates as planning consultant.
To learn more about this scheme search for reference numbers A/22/94479/MAJOR and A/22/94480/LB on Wigan Council’s planning portal.
The scheme forms part of a wider plan for the 17-acre Eckersley Mills and Swan Meadows site.
The plans for Mill One represent the first phase of a wider £200m masterplan for the site.
A planning application to restore Mill Three and create 137 loft-style apartments was also submitted just before Christmas.
A wider masterplan for the entire site is currently being discussed with Wigan Council and will be made public later this year, according to Heaton Group.
“We are a Wigan business, and this is a special scheme for us because we live and work in the town and know how important it is,” said Heaton Group managing director John Heaton.
“We want to bring life back to the mills. That is why we are committed to saving as much as we can. We are breathing new life into a neglected asset. For too long this is a site that has suffered from a lack of vision and investment. Our plans are all about rescuing what we can and creating something the people of Wigan can be proud of.”
Before selling the site to Heaton Group, Maryland Securities won detailed planning consent to redevelop the site into a 1m sq ft mixed-use scheme in 2017.
Those plans featured 315 homes, offices, commercial and cultural facilities, a new hotel, cafes and restaurants.
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