Work begins on shopping centre entertainment venue

The Stack entertainment venue will open in the Grand Arcade shopping centre in Wigan

Work is under way on a "game changing" entertainment destination in a Greater Manchester town centre.

The Stack leisure venue is being built over two floors of the former Debenhams store inside the Grand Arcade shopping centre in Wigan.

The venue will have about 12 street food outlets, up to six bars and live music.

Mike Matthews, general manager of the Grand Arcade, said: "Its a completely different offer which Wigan has never seen before."

The Debenhams store in the Grand Arcade shopping centre closed in May 2021, leaving a large empty retail space which has remained empty ever since.

Mike Matthews from the Grand Arcade says the new entertainment venue will attract more customers

Other big-name stores have also closed in Wigan, including Marks & Spencer.

Mr Matthews, 61, said: "Our footfall in the Grand Arcade is a third down on pre-Covid times but we are still attracting around 62,000 people a week.

"Stack is hoping to attract around 30,000 customers a week, so that would restore us to pre-Covid levels, which would be fantastic."

Footfall has reduced at the Grand Arcade shopping centre in Wigan since the Covid lockdowns

Work has begun on the conversion of one half of the old Debenhams store, which is expected so take six months, meaning Stack is set to open early next year.

The venue will be open until 03:00 at weekends and a new entrance will be built on to Concert Square to allow access when the shopping centre is closed.

The destination is expected to create about 140 jobs in Wigan town centre and the owners hope it will attract about two thousand people at peak times.

Stack has already opened several outlets in the north-east of England and it has plans for a venue on Oxford Road, close to Manchester Metropolitan University.

Work is under way to transform the former Debenhams store in the Grand Arcade shopping centre

Elsewhere in Wigan town centre, the Fettlers shopping centre is also being refurbished, which will include building a new market hall, leisure destinations and apartments.

It will replace the former Galleries shopping centre, which was bought by Wigan Council in 2018 and has now been demolished.

Aidan Thatcher from Wigan Council said: "Retailers and investors can really see that there are big changes coming to Wigan.

"Retail is struggling but people can see we are investing in our town centre."

A walkway though the old Debenhams store in Wigan will open in the next few weeks.

A new access route, between the Grand Arcade shopping centre and the Millgate multi-storey car park, will open in the next few weeks.

The walkway will go straight through the middle of the old Debenhams store.