When a Community Finds Its Coworking Space with Lee Dalgleish

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“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.*

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Find Your Crew

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 collaborate with other like-minded professionals.”

[21:23] Friday Club origin: “Come down on the second Friday of each month to three mills or to Feast at the Mills... you get a free drink... come and meet us.”

[23:32] Friday Club impact: “People are coming up to me now saying... we’ve got clients based in Wigan that we’ve never, ever had before.”

[27:03] Five-yard rule: “Everybody that’s within five yards of me, if they make eye contact with me, I’d know them and say hello to them.”

[29:47] Where to connect: “I’m always here at Cotton Works. I’m based up in Wiv in the centre of Wigan. You can connect with me on LinkedIn.”

What 2,000 People on a Weekend Actually Means

Most coworking spaces spend years trying to build community.

Cotton Works drew 2,000 people per weekend within months of opening Feast at the Mills.

Bernie asked the obvious question. How?

Lee’s answer is simpler than you’d think.

They created a place where people wanted to be.

Not just a venue with food and drink. A space where Doris and George bring their dog for a pint and listen to live music. Where Lee’s daughters turn up for bottomless brunch and DJs.

Where families find activities for kids without feeling like they’re at a soft play centre with alcohol.

“We’ve got dorming on the door, but I beg to differ whether or not we’re at the touch of what we ever need them because everybody comes in.”

No security incidents. No trouble.

Just people from across Wigan finding a reason to come down to the canal on a Friday night.

This isn’t a hospitality strategy.

It’s proof that when you build something the town actually needs, rather than what property developers think will maximise yield, people show up.

Feast at the Mills opened in October 2023. Within a year, it became the place people from outside Wigan know about.

“How do you know Wigan, Mitchell?” Bernie gets asked.

“Feast at the Mills,” they say.

That’s not marketing.

That’s what happens when 2,000 people have a good time and tell their mates.

The Patron Model That Funds a Youth Zone

Wigan Youth Zone costs money to run.

Serious money.

35,000 square feet. Staff, equipment, programmes. Music studios, climbing walls, life skills workshops.

All of it non-means-tested, open to any young person aged five to early twenties across the entire Wigan borough.

He recognised what he was seeing when Lee took him to the Youth Zone.

A serious operation addressing serious problems. Not a cute community project.

A facility doing the work most towns pretend doesn’t need doing.

The funding model is patrons.

Local businesses that support the Youth Zone financially and in-kind.

Lee’s a patron. He’s also Chair of Development.

That means constant outreach with Lindsay, the Head of Fundraising. Golf days, charity events, and the annual ball.

But also practical support.

“They don’t just give us financial increments for the duration of the year. They’ll come in, and we have electrical companies who’ll come in and take over all the electrical works and the safety and things like that. We’ll have a joinery company that’ll make things for us. We’ll have a guy who’s got an IT company, and he’s taking all the IT stuff off of them.”

This is how you resource a 35,000-square-foot facility without council funding or lottery grants, so it doesn't collapse when priorities shift.

You build relationships with businesses that see the direct line between a functioning Youth Zone and the town’s future workforce.

Lee gets emotional talking about it.

“If I fill up talking about it, you know how passionate I am about it.”

The Heaton Group didn’t buy Eckersley Mills and then decide to support the Youth Zone as CSR.

The Youth Zone was always part of what Cotton Works represents.

Keep young people in Wigan. Give them skills. Create pathways into businesses like the ones operating out of Weave Coworking.

Patrons fund the present.

But they’re investing in Wigan’s ability to hold onto its own talent.

When the Community Already Exists

Bernie’s been saying it for months.

Most coworking spaces are looking for community.

Wigan is a community looking for a coworking space.

Lee proves it.

The Friday Club started as an idea from John, the MD at Heaton Group.

He’d been running his own business since he was 16. On Fridays, he’d take the lads to the pub.

Bit of a pat on the back. Couple of pints.

When Cotton Works opened Three Mills and Feast at the Mills, they formalised it.

Second Friday of every month. Free drink when you arrive. Come say hello. See what’s happening.

They launched in May or June 2025.

By summer, 250 people were showing up.

“People are coming up to me now saying, Do you know what, Lee, with this Friday Club, we’re getting involved with Wigan now. We’ve got clients based in Wigan that we’ve never, ever had before. And all we did was turn up for a lager, had a bit of a packet of Chris and a drink and a bit of a chat.”

The doors were slamming shut in Bolton, Warrington, St Helens.

Cotton Works kept them open.

This is what Bernie means when he talks about Wigan already being a community.

The infrastructure existed. Wigan Warriors, Wigan Athletic, Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls, Northern Soul. Historic pride.

But no economic centre that wasn’t tied to retail or commuting to Manchester.

Cotton Works gave that community a place to gather around something being built, rather than something being lost.

Lindsay, the Head of Fundraising at the Youth Zone, grew up attending youth clubs in Wigan.

She’s now raising funds for the next generation.

Lee’s daughter manages Three Mills.

This is what keeps talent local.

Not just jobs. A reason to invest your life here.

The Friday Club isn’t networking.

It’s proof that when you create the conditions for connection, people will show up and bring business with them.

The Five-Yard Rule and Why It Matters

Lee learned the five-yard rule a long time ago.

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

Bernie picked up on it immediately.

“That saying hello to people for years and years and years. I always thought it’s really odd how you will walk down the street and not say hello to someone. There’s two human beings on a pathway, and they acknowledge each other. It’s 99.9% of people say hello back.”

This sounds basic.

It is basic.

But most operators don’t do it.

Lee does it everywhere. Walking through Cotton Works, down to Three Mills, across to the Youth Zone.

Five yards. Eye contact. Hello.

“It sounds really, really simple, doesn’t it? And dead basic, but it’s lost in society, I think, across the board with lots of people.”

The five-yard rule is how you turn foot traffic into relationships.

How do you make sure nobody walks through your space feeling invisible?

How do you build the sort of environment where people come up to Lee and say, “We need help with this,” because they know he’ll actually listen.

“I’m open to absolutely anything and everything. If it’s hospitality, if it’s office space, if it’s setting up a new business here at Cotton Works, if it’s trying to support a local charity within the community.”

This is the operational principle behind Cotton Works’ success.

Not a strategy. Not marketing.

Just a willingness to greet people and mean it.

Operators spend thousands on community software, event calendars, and engagement metrics.

Lee walks five yards and says hello.

The results speak for themselves.

Cotton Works is the place people know about. The Friday Club draws 250 people. Feast at the Mills gets 2,000 per weekend. The Youth Zone thrives on patron support.

All of it built on a rule that costs nothing and requires no technology.

If someone’s within five yards and makes eye contact, say hello.

What This Means for Your Space

You’re probably not regenerating three historic mills in Wigan.

But you can steal the framework.

Stop waiting for the community to arrive.

Look at what already exists. Who’s already organising? What problems are already being solved? Where are people already gathering?

Wigan had Warriors fans, Youth Zone alumni, Friday drinkers, and families walking the canal.

Cotton Works gave them a reason to stop walking past and come in.

Build relationships that aren’t transactional.

Lee’s a patron at the Youth Zone. He’s Chair of Development. He runs charity events.

None of this directly benefits Cotton Works’ bottom line.

But all of it creates the ecosystem that makes Cotton Works possible.

Patrons support the Youth Zone. Youth Zone graduates need workspace. Weave Coworking offers that.

Businesses at Weave attend the Friday Club. Friday Club proceeds fund local charities.

It’s not a funnel. It’s a web.

Use the five-yard rule.

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

Track how many people you greet in a week.

Most operators will be shocked at how low the number is.

Keep your door open.

Lee gets emails, calls, and requests from across Wigan. Community groups wanting to use the space. Businesses are asking about collaboration. Charities looking for support.

“The doors never, ever closed. Because I might miss a point where I think, You know what? What a great opportunity that is to support an organisation like that.”

Most operators say yes to members and no to everyone else.

Lee says yes to anyone who might contribute to Wigan’s future.

That’s why Cotton Works works.

Don’t pigeonhole yourself.

Cotton Works is a pub, a food hall, a coworking space, a community venue, a business network, a charity fundraising hub.

It’s everything because Wigan needed everything.

Your space doesn’t need to be all things to all people.

But it can be multiple things to the right people.

Stop the brain drain where you are.

Lee’s focus is on keeping young people in Wigan. Stopping the exodus to Manchester and Liverpool. Giving talent a reason to stay.

What’s the brain drain in your town?

Where’s your talent going? What would make them stay?

You don’t need £50 million and three mills.

You need a five-yard rule and a willingness to say yes when someone asks for help.

We interviewed Lee Dalgleish in Wigan last week.

Bernie kept saying he’d never seen anything like it. Not because Cotton Works is massive or perfectly designed. Because it works.

2,000 people show up to Feast at the Mills every weekend. The Friday Club pulls 250 business owners from across the North West. Wigan Youth Zone—the largest in Europe—runs on the support of local patrons who give cash, time, and skilled labour.

Lee’s the Commercial Property Manager at The Heaton Group. But he’s better described as the fixer of Wigan. He’s got a five-yard rule: anyone within five yards who makes eye contact gets a hello.

Sounds basic. But it’s the operational principle behind everything at Cotton Works.

Most coworking spaces spend years looking for community. Wigan already had the community. Cotton Works gave them a reason to stop commuting to Manchester and start building something local.

The episode’s live now. If you’ve ever been told you need venture capital to make an impact, Lee’s proof you don’t. You need a town that’s ready, a willingness to say hello, and the patience to build relationships that aren’t transactional.

If you’re running a space in a town losing talent to bigger cities, this one’s for you.

Links & Resources

Lee Dalgleish’s Work

Projects & Community

Charities Supported

Projects & Community 2026

Bernie’s Projects

One More Thing

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Written by

Bernie J Mitchell