Richard Stead News, Manchester
Work to save a 1970s concrete civic centre built in Wigan that was once under threat from demolition has been completed after a major restoration.
The Brutalist building on Millgate opened in 1970 and has served as the heart of local government in the borough for close to fifty years.
After falling out of use, the town centre site has since been restored into offices designed for start-up companies and freelance workers.
Tim Heatley, from developer Capital and Centric which oversaw the project, said the building’s transformation has seen it become “cool, pioneering, and edgy”.
Some of the original features have been brought back to their former glory, including the waffle-shaped ceiling, terrazzo staircases and feature windows.
Mr Heatley said unless something was done to save the building “it was going to get demolished”.
“We had to check the building for things like RAAC (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) and asbestos so that was a gamble really.”
The facilities in the newly-redeveloped building include flexible workspaces, a café, a gym, a mini-cinema, meeting rooms and a roof terrace.
The redevelopment was supported by cash from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which replaced European funding streams after the UK left the European Union.
Dave Molyneux, the leader of Wigan Council, said: “I had an office in here for quite a while and it had that 1970s retro, concrete building style but this is something special.
“For businesses, we’re probably the best located local authority in Greater Manchester because of the West Coast Main Line and the M6 motorway.”
Other developments in Wigan town centre include the Fettlers shopping centre, which will include hundreds of homes, offices and a new indoor market.
Work is also underway on a new food and drink destination over two floors of the former Debenhams store inside the Grand Arcade shopping centre.
