£6m apartments scheme now under way in Wigan

Work has started on a £6m residential scheme in Wigan.

Liverpool-based Caro Developments has appointed contractors, Newry Construction, to deliver its 48-unit Vantage Point apartments scheme on Standishgate.

The programme involves the refurbishment of the upper floors of the five-storey Bryan House, formerly used as offices.

The site was bought from Hurstwood Holdings in July and the company will lease the first floor for its new flagship self-storage business, Hurstwood Self Store, which is due to open in December this year. The ground floor is let on a mix of leases to three retail and leisure businesses.

Neil Carlyle, Caro managing director, said: “There’s a lot of investment coming into Wigan and this is our second development in the town centre.

“The regeneration of The Galleries by Beijing Construction is now well under way and there is genuine confidence in the town’s prospects.”

He added: “The time felt right to bring a sophisticated, design-led residential offer to the market.”

Architects, Falconer Chester Hall, well known for their work delivering major city centre residential schemes in Liverpool, Salford and Manchester, are the scheme’s designers.

All 48 units will be one-bed homes of between 400 and 500 sq ft. The apartments have been designed to bring a fresh and crisp urban design to the market, with high end fixtures and fittings and quality finishes throughout.

Construction is expected to take nine months to complete.

Development funding has been provided by Cheadle-based Together, with Zerum having acted as planning consultants. ADS (engineers), PSD (building services) and Orion (fire safety) are among the other consultants advising on the scheme.

Ritchie Watson, corporate lending director at Together, said: “We are excited to be building on our long standing relationship with Caro and are proud to be their financial partner on this latest project.

“This is a fantastic scheme, which involves a local developer breathing new life into an under-used mixed use building, sensitively renovating the former offices. Once completed, the scheme will create contemporary and much needed accommodation in Wigan’s thriving town centre.”

Michael Gledhill, managing director at RW Invest, said: “We are proud to be launching our fifth project with Caro Developments, following the successful completion and 100 per cent occupancy of all previous sites. Wigan is an exciting area for investors, with multiple regeneration prospects and good transport links. We look forward to the project welcoming tenants in spring 2023.”