Dock Branch plans visualised through virtual reality

Schools in Wirral are being given the chance to see exciting plans for Dock Branch Park, through the use of virtual reality (VR). 

VR Headsets will give students an ‘immersive experience’ allowing them to cycle through and explore how the old railway route will look when reimagined as an urban park. The headsets use motion-tracking technology, which lets you look around a virtual space as if you're actually there. 

Dock Branch Park is intended to be at the centre of a new neighbourhood in Birkenhead and is based on the land that formed one of the oldest railway lines in the world. The site will connect the new urban garden village at Hind Street with Wirral Waters, passing through the heart of the town. It is one of the catalyst projects for the council’s major plans to regenerate Birkenhead and beyond, and is inspired by The High Line park in New York. 

Schools within a two mile radius of Dock Branch Park were invited to take part in the virtual reality experience. Digital Urban, a digital design agency, is working closely with the council to hold these engagement events, where the students’ feedback which will be used to shape how the park will look.