AN armed forces hub for the borough will open in March.

The facility will be situated at Withnall House in Wigan and provide a base for serving personnel and armed forces veterans as well as cadets.

There were talks that Wigan Market Hall was the favoured location for the hub but a recent review found Withnall House was a better option as it could be opened much sooner.

There will be two phases of the development with the first being Withnall House being refurbished and occupied by the Wigan Sea Cadets.

The second stage will be a new building next to Withnall House where the armed forces hub will be based.

North West area manager for the Royal British Legion, Alison Bunn, said: “I believe the hub will be a real asset to the armed forces community.

“It will act as a focal point for serving individuals, veterans and their families so they can easily find information and will combat social isolation which is an issue for veterans of all ages.”

The hub will have a mixture of therapy rooms, classrooms, social space and meeting rooms.

The council provided £500,000 for the hub’s development with Ministry of Defence promising to pay £100,000.

Wigan Sea Cadets gave £140,000 after the sale of their previous building.

The Withnall House property will be leased by the council to the cadets group who will operate it with partners to provide services to veterans and their families.

Emma Barton, assistant director for economy at the council, added: “We are very enthusiastic about this invaluable asset and would like to thank the armed forces community and traders for their cooperation and input which has helped us shape the outcome of the project.”