Wigan Pier nightclub: Final section to be demolished

Wigan Pier Nightclub has been empty since 2010 and become an "eyesore", according to Wigan Council

The final section of the former Wigan Pier Nightclub, popular during the 1990s house and rave scene, is being demolished.

Wigan Council is knocking it down to develop part of the pier into a community garden and marina.

The 40-year-old building was bought by the council last March after lying derelict for two years.

Pottery Road and Southgate will be closed from 21:00 GMT until Monday while the demolition work takes place.

Many people will have "happy and slightly hazy memories" of the club, the council said

Deputy council leader, David Molyneux, said: "The nightclub was a pretty poor building. It was in a location that hindered any improvements in that area."

The site will be redeveloped into the new Wigan Pier Quarter over the next decade.

A 1,200 performance venue, new moorings in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal basin and a new community garden at the site of the nightclub are part of the plans.

The council said the pier, immortalised in George Orwell's book The Road to Wigan Pier, is failing to reach its potential as a visitor attraction.

Its museum and visitor centre closed in 2007.