Birkenhead regeneration update September 2023

What is happening?

Major transformation is coming to Wirral’s Left Bank and everyone with an interest in the area’s future is being urged to use this latest round of consultations to have their say.

So far more than £100 million of Government funding has been secured by Wirral Council to support this regeneration and help attract even more private sector investment to make this happen.

It is a huge project and there are currently a number of proposals being put forward for Birkenhead, with additional proposals for the rest of the Left Bank area including Seacombe, Wirral Waters, New Brighton, and New Ferry/Bromborough also coming forward.

The aim is to see the creation of family-friendly neighbourhoods with beautiful, green public spaces and parks, and making places people want to live in, work in and visit.

Why should you get involved?

This is a unique opportunity to influence how these redevelopment proposals go ahead. It is a chance to help shape the future of this area and ensure the ideas being put forward meet the needs of residents, businesses and visitors now and in the future.

It is vital that people share their individual local knowledge to help the council base the plan on the views of people who care about and have a real stake in the future of the Left Bank areas. This will help ensure that the proposals brought forward have the support and confidence of residents and businesses and through this have greater chance to succeed in delivering homes, jobs and bring more local prosperity.

Why so many consultations?

Currently there are a number of individually complex proposals being put forward not just for Birkenhead, but other parts of the Left Bank area which ranges from New Brighton and Seacombe, through Wirral Waters, and across Birkenhead to New Ferry and Bromborough.

To make them easier to understand and deal with they have been broken down into manageable pieces of work covering separate neighbourhood areas. To consult on this whole area would be huge and complex.

How can I get involved?

This update outlines the consultations which are currently open, including: Scotts Quay, Northside, St Werburgh’s, and Cleveland Street. Further details on each of these are below and there are two ways to get involved:

•             Visit haveyoursay.wirral.gov.uk to find out more and complete the surveys.

•             Visit BirkenEd’s Place, which reopens from September 24 where you’ll find materials/images to help you give feedback and share your views. BirkenEd’s Place, 8-10 Borough Rd Pavement, Grange Precinct, CH41 2ZZ.

The projects currently being consulted on:

Northside

The Northside area lies between the Dock Road and the Kingsway Tunnel approach. It has direct access to the M53 Motorway. The aim of the development is to create attractive, safe, welcoming and sustainable workplaces.

It is an existing area of employment uses, some of which are underused but also falls within the Liverpool City Region Freeport area, providing a number of significant incentives to encourage new development and job creation.

Part of the proposal for this area would see support for the relocation of businesses from other neighbourhoods across Birkenhead. It would also support the wider regeneration of Birkenhead by ensuring that businesses are, where possible, not displaced. Have your say online here.

Scotts Quay

Located next to the Wirral Waters site, the proposals for this area would see new a high-density mixed use sustainable living area, maximising the potential of its setting by combining existing and new homes to create a thriving waterside community.

The area has great potential with excellent transport links and a prominent location next to the River Mersey. The site is accessible to Liscard and Birkenhead town centres, as well as neighbouring the Twelve Quays Ferry Terminal and the Wirral Waters development.

The proposed development aims to create new family, professional and retirement properties, including up to 300 houses, 3,200 apartments, plus 15.7 hectares of green space and 13,000 square metres of office space, depending on land availability, and new modern employment premises to support local economic growth.

The proposed improvements to the existing housing area within the neighbourhood, alongside the delivery of new waterfront living opportunities and forms a crucial part of the Birkenhead 2040 Framework. The online consultation is here.

Cleveland Street

This is the second phase of engagement and seeks opinions on the masterplan which has been developed for the area based on initial feedback from the public.

The neighbourhood is south of the Wirral Waters development and north of Birkenhead Park, around the Cleveland Street area.

The proposals include making a new neighbourhood with more than a thousand new homes, up to 60% of which will be family sized with three or more bedrooms.

The masterplan being proposed aims to keep some of the existing employment sites as well as creating business spaces on the ground floors of new residential buildings.

There is also a focus on improving options for walking, cycling and public transport and improving the links between the neighbourhood, the dockland area, Birkenhead Park, and Birkenhead town centre.

To meet the expected demand the plans propose building a new primary school while also transforming Duke Street into west Birkenhead’s high street.

The designs aim to see a highly sustainable neighbourhood and ready to make it easier for people to reduce their energy use.

This consultation launched is available on the Have your say website until 24 October.

St Werbugh’s

The St Werburgh’s Masterplan covers the location around the St Werburgh’s and St Laurence Catholic Church and the adjacent square in Birkenhead town centre. It also includes the former House of Fraser site and Princes Pavement plus parts of Argyle Street extending as far as Clifton Crescent.

The masterplan is based on feedback from the public from an earlier consultation and now those ideas have been used to develop proposals for the area, with a key element putting the new Birkenhead Market building at the heart of the town centre.

Supporting this is the nearby development of the high-quality offices which, as well as providing a centralised home for council staff, will also create modern office space to attract businesses and organisations and bring significant numbers of potential new customers into the town centre.

The masterplan also shows how removal of the flyovers on Borough Road leading into the Queensway Tunnel will help reconnect the centre of the town to the proposed urban village development at Hind Street where hundreds of new homes are proposed. Have your say on this consultation online.

More details will be made available soon on further consultations which are due to follow later this year on proposals for:

• Birkenhead Town Centre
• Birkenhead Waterfront (and surrounding areas)
• Seacombe – Wallasey town hall area
• New Brighton (Marine Promenade
• West Kirby