Wigan Album

SACRILEGE....by far the worst decision ever made in Wigan! (that and demolishing Central Park)

Not to mention the demolition of the Old Arcade and Commercial Yard etc, 15 years earlier.

And the demolition of the railways...you can go on and on.

I believe there is a certain section of politicians and civil servants who wake up in the morning and ask themselves "what damage can I do today"?

Careless about the damage they do to the many, whilst serving the interests of the few.

Mary and her husband Ken Gubbins ran the book stall on the outside market at that spot where her name is written, next to them was Pauline and Colin Taylor who sold toiletries! Happy Days on old Wigan Market!!

SACRILEGE....by far the worst decision ever made in Wigan! (that and demolishing Central Park). Central Park was demolished because it was sold to recover debts. Don't think it had anything to do with politicians and civil servants, just bad management and overspending.

not to mention the queens hall auditorium

I agree with all the comments.
You should try & remember the names of the people who were on the council at the time & those who made the very unwise & unpopular decision for demolition.....and never let them near a council chamber ever again.
As a tourist attraction the Market Hall would have brought people & money into Wigan but sadly, yet again Big Money talked.

Wigan council operate a change for the sake of change policy, it's an obsession with image and the new image they create is always worst than the old.

Take the rose tinted specs off folks. prior to its demolition the public hated it, the stall holders hated it, it couldnt attract major names, it was dull and dreary, falling down, worn out and unhygenic, it leaked, it was ridden with vermin, it was inefficient, costly to maintain and the wooden stalls and floor was a serious fire hazard. Everything has a sell by date and the market hall was way past its own at the time. It had become a liabilty. Perhaps the council or the developers could have done something with the shell, I am sure it was considered, fact is they didnt and instead they went for another option, get over it.

Mike.W. the market hall was a mess because it was allowed to get into a mess. Markets are not about major names, they are about smaller traders and local business. I wonder how much good will was lost in Wigan in the years the town was in a state of disarray while the Galleries was being built.

Who said it would have to attract major names Mike ? Who said everybody, including those who earned a living there, hated it, they sound like excuses to me. And yes, they could have gutted it & left the shell...it might have looked better than what they gave you in its place. We don't all want High Streets to be cloned so you don't even know what town you are in... lets have a bit of variety please !
So there, thats me had my rant for the day !

I worked on a butchers stall in the market hall yes it was full of vermin etc... one morning we had laid out all the steaks etc on display when we noticed some maggots crawling on the meat.. these had fallen through the flimsy ceiling (made of polythene) from a dead pigeon on top of the stall

We could not get on top to clean it because it would not hold our weight so we were serving customers and brushing away the maggots so they did not see them..

What a sad site,we spent many hours in and around Wigan when we were kids and later when i worked in Wigan at S&S Motors the Rootes Group Hillman dealers,The planners have ruined Wigan,It could have been a real tourist area with all the old buildings but so called progress has ruined it.Hooray for the planners can't see beyond the end of there noses and probably the little brown envolopes they all more than likley got.Go on the Continent and see all the old towns which are real tourist places,Thats what Wigan should have been,Still i'm still proud to be a Wiganer.