Ashton Town Hall

What do Ashton residents think of the plan to demolish the Town Hall and build a Health Centre ?

A Health Centre will serve a better purpose than a Town Hall.

Ashton town centre, like many others, is too fragmented.
The clearing of the Town Hall to make way for a large clinic is a welcome development. If you look at the back of the town hall you can see rusted steelwork. It's either the remains of an earlier building or more probably an intended extension which was scrapped.Either way it's an eyesore.
It's part of a council strategy to examine the use of hundreds of buildings around the borough. A simple question for each is 'is it really necessary to spend huge sums of money keeping it open'. If the answer is no then it's for the chop.
Every one sold or demolished helps to meet budgetary constraints and in doing so eases the pressure on staff reduction.

I worked there for a time and hated it, good riddance I say. A new build health centre on this site will be a lot better than the porta-cabin style clinic you have to endure now.

And you will get rid of those awkward surly lot in the rates and rent office.

once told local morgue was at back of town hall.Will queens rd clinic/health centre close if development goes ahead?

ppnm38817, it was at the back, on the corner where the alleyway to Liverpool Road is, so if you hear a haunting groaning whilst going past one night you know where it's coming from. There was one in Ince and one in Hindley also.

If this replaces Queens Road Health Centre parking will be a problem.

Personally I think its a great idea and will be of benefit to a lot of people. What I've never understood is why Ashton shopping centre has never been better developed i.e more shops added, different retailers attracted to the area. The market used to great, but is pretty quiet now, so why not move it now to the other end, just for the 2 days its on, car park the rest of the week, and then join Gerard St to Garswood St with a shopping centre built on the current market area.

"the alleyway to Liverpool Road "

Didn't this used to be known as 'The Steam Engine'?

The sream engine was behind the police station.

Any idea who owns the waste land in Princess rd facing Aldi,that would be an ideal place for a health centre.

gaffer:

Isn't it the same track, gated entry onto Liverpool Road at its Southern end? Continued as 'backs' to Town Hall and other buildings on Bryn Street. Then past where the Post Office used to be, then bridge over the brook, to emerge upon Old Road adjacent to the Police Station at its Northern end.

Although I recall the name, I do not remember an actual steam engine.

Would love to know more about it if anyone does. Precisely where, what was it used for, what type of steam engine etc etc?

The steam engine was a cotton spinning factory owned in 1861 by Joe Ashton. 21 men and 95 women worked there. Attached to the mill was terrace of 8, later 10, houses the address of which was the Steam Engine. This later became Stonecroft Terrace, it was located between Millingford Brook and the police station.

Thanks for the info gaffer.

My grandparents used to have the shop at the top of Stonecroft Terrace

The Morgue & Ambulance garage were both side by side up the alley going towards the bowling greens...Very quiet working there

Queens Rd clinic leeks rain water very badly, should be closed,

they could, they just could, build a bigger and better health centre, with adequate parking on the existing Queen's road site couldn't they - now there's a thought.

And thus PRESERVEing it (no nothing to do with jam), well the main building anyway, and find a much better use for the main Town Hall building, which holds well over 100 years of history of our town.

Gizza job, gizza a job, Wigan council planner you say ?, go on then I could do that

The land occupied by the King George V playing field and the old Evans school field, including the clinic, is a medium term Council target for a new school for St Oswald's. The notion probably resides in a file that is no doubt subject to restricted access.
Checks have already been made to see if the Lord Gerard covenant, restricting the site for exclusive use for children, can be overturned. Given that the current Lord Gerard is the last of a distinguished line no doubt some smart lawyer can convince others that the restrictive covenant dies with the passing of the Gerard lineage.
Completion of the school project will throw up a juicy development opportunity. The St Oswald's school site and playing field together with the bowling greens and the Recreation club could be available as a single development site.

which would be a crying f-ing shame.
Anyway, the council have learned very recently that they can't ride roughshod over restrictive covenants, as was shown by their fast back-tracking over their plans for Bryn Rec. (30 houses and blocks of flats anyone) defeated by people power. Power to the people, you just hacìve to get up off your ar- and fight in these situations. Prattlin' on on fb and WW is no good unless it's backed up with protests diectly to the mis-guided classes.
Interesting you say the covenant on KGVIth is 'for exclusiv use of children' - have you seen/got a copy of the covenant then you could share with us ?

P.S. - KGVIth and Evans is one and the same areas not different.

Councillor Don Hodkinson researched the covenant in the Council archives at Leigh Town Hall. He advised me of the gist of the covenant and said that the clinic building got the go ahead because it was originally built as a baby and young children's clinic.
The football pitch is in Council ownership on a freehold basis. The playing field is still subject to the covenant.l

I've had land in Ashton, freehold with residual covenants from Gerards holding, in the past. The covenants can be paid off.
Just because the football pitch is freehold, it doesn't mean they can do what they want with it ..... without paying!