ECA are working for the new owners of this large regeneration site in Wigan to design a viable mixed-use scheme and submit planning applications.
Working with planning officers from the outset we are managing a team of expert consultants which includes Forum Heritage http://forumheritage.com/ and viability experts. This is critical to ensure that we don’t repeat the mistakes made by previous consultants who developed a scheme which neither enhanced the setting of the listed building nor was attractive to housebuilders.
This 3.5 hectare site is located on the edge of Wigan Town Centre and accommodates a series of rundown vacant buildings and infrastructure associated with the former mill and college, and is dominated by the listed former Pagefield Mill building. It is also bounded by residential gardens and has some challenging technical issues presented by reservoirs, railway sidings and weaving sheds associated with the 19th century mill.
Sadly the site is in a very poor state of repair and the emphasis is now on creating a viable scheme which will preserve the most important heritage asset, namely the former mill building which has a unique history and remains structurally sound.
ECA Architects have developed a scheme for the sympathetic conversion of the former mill to 20,000 sq. metres of commercial floorspace and the provision of penthouses. A masterplan approach to the site creates a series of apartment buildings capable of accommodating 321 residential flats, a new road and right of way, public square and entrance to the adjacent listed park.
