Three historic Wigan buildings restored with £2m Heritage Lottery funding

Restoration work on three historic buildings in central Wigan is now complete thanks to seven-figure Heritage Lottery funding.

Wigan Council secured £2m from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2010 to deliver a series of restoration projects across the town’s conservation area.

The former Victoria hotel, a former carpet shop located at 58 Wallgate and another store at 53 Wallgate have all been given a makeover with a mix of grant money and private sector investment.

At the Grade II-listed Victoria hotel, built in the late 19th Century, £100k was handed to property firm Heaton Group to turn the site into 12 first- and second-floor residential apartments along with ground-level commercial space.

The building’s owners invested more than £1m to breathe new life into the prominent, semi-derelict building.

The owner of the Heaton Group, John Heaton, said: “The grant has really helped us bring this project forward.

“It has helped us to protect some of the historic and architectural features of the building, retaining the character that first attracted us into purchasing it.”

At 58 Wallgate, meanwhile, a £70k grant was put towards renovating the former carpet shop and offices for retail and residential use.

Owner Sabbir Kothia commented: “The grant has been key to us bringing this property back into use and has been a major factor in us being able to do such a high quality job.

“Without the grant we would not have been able to bring this building back into use, and give it a future.”

Over at 53 Wallgate, £7,770 was used to create a new shop front and upper floor windows.

Tom Garthwright, from the site’s owner Sterling Property, said: “The grant has helped us put a traditional shop front back and restored the sash windows above.

“Hopefully this will assist us in marketing this property to ensure some vitality in this prominent part of town.”

Cllr Terry Halliwell, the heritage champion at Wigan Council, said he believes the Heritage Lottery Fund investment is “key to the council’s vision” for the town centre conservation area.

He explained: “Working with our private sector partners we have successfully implemented some of these key buildings, and we anticipate that we will be on site later this year with Tower Buildings which will be the final piece of the jigsaw.”

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