Proporators - The future of developing?

The Heaton Group is a leading residential developer in the Northwest. These impressive flyovers showcase the true scale of their development at Eckersley Mill. Spanning over 17 acres, it will encompass hundreds of new homes, 80,000 sq ft of offices, co-working spaces, and retail units, along with areas for restaurants, a pub, a venue for competitive socialising, a roller rink, event spaces, a rooftop bar, and a food hall.

What is significant about this project is that The Heaton Group is a Wigan-based business. Their love for the town and civic pride are driving this entire scheme to create a new residential and business quarter, anchored by hospitality, within the town. The level of investment, quality of execution, and attention to detail by The Heaton Group are immense, meaning from day one, they decided to operate the significant parts of the scheme, including the food hall, pub, rooftop bar, co-working spaces, event spaces, and competitive socialising venue.

As the major construction commenced, we opened Feast at the Mills, a meanwhile street food and music venue housed in old factory buildings earmarked for demolition. The main objective of the venue is to serve as a community outreach initiative to promote the mills as a future hospitality venue and begin establishing the location as a new destination. Feast has proved extremely popular, attracting thousands of visitors and generating significant income from previously derelict and underutilised space.

At Next Phase, we are witnessing an increasing number of projects making this same decision and have coined the term "Proporators" for these landlords and developers. The reason may be similar to Heaton's: the desire for hospitality to match the quality of the development. However, developments may also be located in towns or areas where finding operators of the level of quality that the schemes demand could be challenging. It may involve an unusual or non-traditional building.

Whatever the reason, developers understand that the regeneration process of high streets, shopping centres, and towns must begin with that initial step, and it's hospitality, culture, and placemaking that can prove to be the most effective, especially when most operators are demanding significant capital contributions and rent-free periods.

This holistic approach has the potential to play an essential role in the regeneration of many of our towns and high streets. Next Phase assists with every facet, from feasibility studies and business cases to planning, design, construction, curation, and operations. Importantly, we help build fully functional and sustainable hospitality businesses. If you would like to explore the potential of your projects or developments, please get in touch with us.

Opportunities remain for office and retail tenants at Eckersley Mill, with an open day on-site planned for March 20th.

Photos: Kevin Lister-Stuttard, published in Wigan Today.