£135M regeneration in Greater Manchester town begins to take place with new 144 bedroom hotel

According to a report in the Wigan Post, council leaders say investor interest in the borough is strengthening as several long-running developments move closer to completion.

Council leader David Molyneux said 2025 had been a year of momentum rather than dramatic change, with projects announced in previous years beginning to visibly take shape. Chief among them is Fettlers, the £135m redevelopment of the former Galleries shopping centre.

Construction is now well under way on the new indoor Market Hall, while work is also progressing on a 144-bedroom Hampton by Hilton hotel.

The Market Hall is due to be completed by November next year, meaning it could be trading in time for Christmas 2026, with the hotel also expected to be well advanced by that point.

Cotton Works continues to expand following the securing of £25m from Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s Good Growth Fund. Further regeneration of the former Eckersley’s Mills site will see the creation of commercial, leisure and healthcare space, alongside almost 180 new homes, supporting an estimated 670 jobs.

He said: “I can tell you that this company does a lot of homework. It will have looked at everything that is going on round here – including Cotton Works – and seen that it is a place in which it can confidently invest.

"There is a huge amount generally from investors in Wigan at the moment. The place is very much on the up."

At Haigh Woodland Park, restoration works to the historic hall are moving into their next phase, with plans for a restaurant, rooftop bar, events space, gift shop and 10 bedrooms. Internal works are expected to take around 12 months, with completion targeted for early 2027. Molyneux added: “The developments there couldn’t be more welcome. They are providing a lot a jobs already. There are loads of people on site at Fettlers, for instance, who live in the borough.

"And Wigan and Leigh College being appointed the North West’s construction technical excellence college should not be underestimated either, and a lot of their apprentices will be able to get hands-on experience very close to home.

"Places like Wigan are becoming increasingly attractive to investors. People are looking outside the cities and seeing that their returns are better here, it has great connectivity too and the cost of living is lower. In other words, Wigan is not a bad place to be.”