Development partner appointed to £130m Wigan shopping centre scheme

Wigan Council has officially announced that Galleries25 – a joint venture partnership between Cityheart and Beijing Construction Engineering Group International (BCEGI) – has been appointed as the Strategic Development Partner for the £130m redevelopment of the town’s Galleries Shopping Centre.The redevelopment will create 475 construction jobs and a further 190 jobs when the scheme opens.The proposed scheme will see the existing 440,000 sq ft shopping centre transformed to provide:A multi-media centre comprising: Six screen cinema; Music and E-sports venue; 10-lane bowling alley; Indoor mini golf; Food and beverage units.Evening entertainment spaceA new hotel464 residential unitsNew market hall, including a contemporary foodhall, co-working space and small officesA re-animated Makinson ArcadeLandscaped public realm square for annual outdoor events460 car parking spaces located within the existing basementWigan Council will work with Cityheart and BCEGI to agree the final details of the development with construction expected to start in early 2022 with an anticipated completion date of 2025.Cityheart, a North West-based property development and investment company, has a 15-year track record of successfully delivering significant projects across the country, working almost exclusively with the public sector.UK-based BCEGI will lead the construction programme for the new scheme. It is also involved in the redevelopment of Manchester Airport.Following consultation with residents, retailers, traders and visitors, the proposals have been designed to transform Wigan town centre into a vibrant, attractive and accessible place to live, work, visit and learn, helping to secure it’s long term future.Currently the centre is dominated by retail units, but under these plans there will be a much wider and diverse offer, including improved hospitality, leisure, and residential opportunities.Galleries25 has committed to recruiting local people to the jobs, including 25 apprentices annually, providing work experience and education visits and to supporting the local supply chain through spend of £52m. Around 864 volunteer hours will also be donated to the voluntary sector.In keeping with Wigan’s environmental strategy and objectives, several environmentally-friendly construction techniques will be used to reduce the environmental impact. This includes the installation of photovoltaics to generate solar power and reduce carbon emissions, energy-efficient water fittings to reduce water consumption and plenty of electric car charging points and cycling storage in the car park to encourage smarter travel.The plans support the Wigan Town Centre Strategic Regeneration Framework developed by the council last year. Its aims include:A place to live, work and visit: Our vision is to create a successful, vibrant and attractive town centre where people want to live, work and visit.A diverse leisure and retail offer that is attractive to all: A diverse leisure offer to attract more visitors and to keep them in the town centre for longer and during the evening.A better-connected town: Wigan will be more accessible, permeable and legible. It will be easier to move between key areas through better pedestrian links.As part of the scheme the markets will be relocated to a more central position.