Photo-a-Day  (Thursday, 26th December, 2019)

Are the buildings behind the market The Galleries ?
If the units in them are not doing well, its a great shame. The architecture is quite good, reminds me of the Old Wigan I knew.

I suspect what happened in Wigan is the same as the problem in Norwich, they built a supposedly bigger, better shopping mall, The Chapelfield thinking that both would trade well, they havent...the older Castle Mail has many empty units now. Progress for you.

I agree Helen. The buildings are beautiful and well designed. There are only 7 people in view and one or two may be stallholders.

Surely if they lowered the rents for the units more vendors would sign up and if free parking was arranged then more customers would show up.

Job done.

Nice pic, Brian.

Helen the photo is taken from the top layer of the Galleries. To the left of the clock tower was Morrisons store over Two levels. Behind the tower slightly right is the indoor market. and to the right is the top level of part of the square round the outdoor market most of the shops are empty.Google maps Wigan Market to get a better view

Completely agree with you Helen, Norwich has been ruined same as Wigan. We don't want gloss, I preferred The Galleries and I preferred Chapelfield. Maybe if they made the rents reasonable they would get the traders back.

Would prefer the three bunch basket ball lights to be old type lanterns . But saying that , I also wish Woolies , Market Hall , and many other places of the old Wigan were just like the were , including using Market Square for walking days and Wigan Fair . I am one of those people who believe in quality of existence , not quantity and profit as we have today . If many Wigganers see no point in going to the towns centre to shop or anything , then that suggests to me something is massively wrong . I am savvy enough to realise that the wheels of progress will always win out in the end , simply because money is the force that drives it forward , but with that progress Wigan has lost the spirit, charm and character it once had , as many on WW often mention . I find that very sad, as once it was such a vibrant town centre , even in the pouring rain . Just my opinion of course WW , if maybe a lament ..

I think the outdoor 'market' is pitiful! It's just a few stalls set in a quadrangle. They seem to disappear more every year. We had 'proper' stalls outside the old market hall set all the way round, from the Market Square. The crowds jostled to be served for the fresh produce grown locally. You can't buy what we had then on the Internet! Those days are gone no more to return. The day the Market Square,( centuries old) was destroyed was the beginning of the end! Why fix something that wasn't broke. They should have just rebuilt the Market Hall on the same site, perhaps a bit smaller, In my opinion. Most people love a good outdoor market, people would still have come into Wigan, as they do to Ormskirk and Chorley etc. No doubt there will be those who say it wouldn't have been possible, but surely the money spent in reorganising the town centre would have allowed for this.

wigan coucil strike again veronica