When a Community Finds Its Coworking Space with Lee Dalgleish

Описание: “We’re keeping people in Wigan, both in jobs, both in supply chain, young people not jumping on the train any longer to go in 30 minutes down the train track to Manchester or Liverpool. You don’t need to go outside of Wigan now. You can do everything in here.”Lee Dalgleish


Tired of running yourself into the ground?


Then stop running alone.


On February 24th, the London Coworking Assembly presents Unreasonable Connection Goes Live!—a one-day working session for the people running London’s most vital neighbourhood spaces and the public sector allies working to help them thrive.


It’s a day to share the load, find real solutions, and build a new playbook, together.


Lee Dalgleish fixes problems.


Not the tidy, admin problems.


The ones where young people leave town because there’s nothing for them.


Where historic buildings rot because nobody knows how to bring them back.


Where talent drains to bigger cities because local economies can’t retain it.


He’s the Commercial Property Manager at The Heaton Group in Wigan.


But that title doesn’t capture what he actually does.


The Heaton Group bought Eckersley Mills in October 2021. Three massive mills from the late 1800s, right in the centre of Wigan, sitting between Manchester and Liverpool.


The sort of place most people write off as too expensive, too complicated, too far gone.


They renamed it Cotton Works.


Then they started building something nobody expected.


Three Mills Pub opened in May 2024.


Four and a half thousand square feet with original slab stone flooring. The sort of character you can’t fake.


Lee’s daughter manages it now.


Feast at the Mills followed in October 2023.


An outdoor food hall in the old weaving sheds. DJs, street food, families, dog walkers, and bottomless brunches.


Over 2,000 people show up every weekend in summer.


But here’s what matters.


Cotton Works isn’t just hospitality. It’s a regeneration project built to stop the brain drain.


Wigan Youth Zone sits at 35,000 square feet. The largest youth facility of its kind in Europe.


Young people aged five to early twenties. Non-means-tested.


Music studios, climbing frames, arts, life skills. Teaching kids how to use a washing machine and turn on a dishwasher alongside creative work.


Lee’s the Chair of Development on the committee.


The Youth Zone runs on patrons—local businesses that support financially and in-kind. IT companies, joiners, and electricians.


Not just writing cheques. Doing the work.


Then there’s Weave.


The coworking space at Cotton Works. Hot desks, resident desks, offices.


Built to keep Wigan’s young talent in Wigan. To stop the exodus to Manchester and Liverpool that costs the town billions.


And the Friday Club.


Second Friday of every month. Over 250 people. Free drink when you arrive.


Business owners from Bolton, Warrington, St Helens. Doors that were slamming shut elsewhere stay open here.


All the proceeds go to local charities. Team Wigan & Leigh. The Brick. Daffodils Dreams. Wigan & Leigh Hospice. The Youth Zone.


This episode is for operators who’ve been told you need venture capital to make an impact.


For anyone who thinks regeneration belongs to property developers with offshore accounts.


Lee’s got a five-yard rule.


Anyone within five yards who makes eye contact gets a hello.


Sounds basic.


But it’s how you build a town where people don’t just work. They stay.


Timeline Highlights


[02:00] Lee on what he’s known for: “Commercial Property Manager at the Heaton group, Wigan.”


[02:29] What Lee wants to be known for: “If you’ve got a question enough, I can help you. Come to me. I’ll do my best to help you.”


[03:38] Eckersley Mills purchased: “In October 2021, we purchased the Ecclesley site, which is now known today as Cotton Work.s”


[04:56] Three Mills character: “It’s just got full of character... epitomises everything that we’re doing here... the restoration work, the respect that we’re paying to all these buildings.”


[06:22] Keeping people in Wigan: “We’re keeping people in Wigan... You don’t need to go outside of Wigan now. You can do everything in here.”


[07:54] Feast at the Mills: “We opened up that in October 2023... what we wanted to create is just people starting to come down to Cotton Works.”


[10:21] Summer numbers: “In the summer months, we’re getting over 2000 people every weekend into the venue, and it’s just snowballed.”


[12:09] Wigan Youth Zone scale: “Wigan Youthsown is the largest Uson of its kind in Europe. It’s 35,000 square feet.”


[13:35] Youth Zone inclusivity: “It’s not means-tested, Bernie... there’s no way of distinguishing children or young adults when they walk in the building... it’s for everybody and anybody.”


[16:29] Lee’s role: “I’m now Chair of Development within the committee... we bounce off each other, and we support each other.”


[18:54] Weave’s purpose: “Weave is about community... It allows small businesses to organically come in... to collabo...