Developers to be sought for key Wirral regeneration site
Major plans for the regeneration of Seacombe are set to move ahead as Wirral Council starts to seek developers to bring new homes to the sites of the former town hall annexes.
The North and South Annexes, office buildings either side of Wallasey town hall, were demolished in early 2024 to make way for new housing for the area.
They had been previously used by the local authority for council staff but had not been occupied since 2020 and were subsequently declared surplus to requirements by the council.
The sites of the former annexes are central to the proposals outlined in the Wallasey Town Hall Quarter Masterplan which outlines a bold vision for the area.
Wirral Council’s Director of Regeneration and Place, Marcus Shaw, said:
These sites are among the prime locations on this side of the borough, close to the waterfront and promenade, and at the heart of the masterplan for the location surrounding the town hall so I’m not surprised we are seeing early interest in them.
The demolition of the annexes was, I have no doubt, welcomed by everyone in the area and this is now a fantastic opportunity to bring much needed high quality and affordable housing here.
This will be a key element in our wider regeneration ambitions for the Seacombe corridor and I now want to see this kick start a renaissance for Seacombe.
A report approved by Wirral Council’s Policy and Resources Committee (19 March 2025) declared the annexe sites surplus to requirements and agreed to start a procurement process to secure a development partner for the re-development of the Wallasey Annexe sites and to appoint the preferred tenderer following the procurement process.
The North Annexe Site is approximately 0.578 acres and the South Annexe Site approximately 0.586 acres, with the freehold interest of both sites (c.1.164 acres) owned by Wirral Council.
The Council’s Local Plan identified Seacombe as a priority area for regeneration and the Wallasey Town Hall Quarter masterplan, adopted at the end of 2024 following consultation, is intended to help guide the future development of the area.
Masterplans provide detailed guidance for a particular area, for example setting out things like building heights and the types of materials to be used in new developments, and are designed to be adopted as formal planning documents.
The Wallasey Town Hall Quarter Masterplan aims to make possible a diverse range of residential developments as well as opportunities for further commercial and retail premises to be developed in the area, with the potential for new jobs and business.
The redevelopment of the sites is being supported by £2.3m to deliver homes from HM Government, through the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF2) programme.
Background information
The One Public Estate programme is a partnership between the Office of Government Property in the Cabinet Office, the Local Government Association and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. It provides practical and technical support and funding for public sector partners to deliver ambitious property-led programmes in collaboration.’
Notices have been issued and are available here. These provide advance notice to the market of the forthcoming project / procurement process and to ensure they are registered with all information updated and correct ready for tendering. Next steps are to progress the procurement documentation with a view beginning this in summer 2025.
