Green light for Birkenhead town centre sites
Development of two key regeneration sites in central Birkenhead has taken a major step forward.
Detailed design work and market testing for the town centre sites at both the former House of Fraser site and at Price Street will begin immediately.
It is anticipated that planning applications at both locations will be submitted before the end of 2024.
Reports published today on the council website give the green light to the draft indicative development plans for Price Street Car Park and the former House of Fraser site combined with part of Princes Pavement and a site on Grange Road.
Leader of Wirral Council, Cllr Paul Stuart said:
The plans for the former House of Fraser and Price Street car park sites are two critical locations for Birkenhead town centre regeneration, and work on their development has been moving ahead behind the scenes at pace for many months. These developments will play a vital role in reviving the town centre.
I fully expect the coming months will see this work translated into real changes, and shoppers, businesses and residents will see this being delivered and can be assured that the council and its partners are pressing ahead at pace to deliver vital regeneration projects. Wirral’s regeneration is not just in Birkenhead but at key sites across our borough from Bromborough and New Ferry, through Wirral Waters, Seacombe and Liscard to New Brighton, working to make Wirral an even better place to live and work and bring up a family.
Speaking on behalf of Wirral Growth Company, Joel Chandler, Senior Development Manager at Muse, said:
These decisions signify another step forward in the revitalisation of Birkenhead, and reinforce the strength of the partnership between Muse and Wirral Council as we work together through the Wirral Growth Company to effect lasting, positive change. Our vision to transform Birkenhead through innovative, people-led regeneration continues to gather pace with these developments, which will deliver future-proofed homes in the heart of the town to the benefit of the whole Wirral community.
The former House of Fraser site is a critical part of council’s regeneration plans for Birkenhead Town Centre. The department store, which also included a car park with 86 spaces and a rear service yard, has recently been demolished.
However, since the authority had decided not to proceed with the proposed Market Hall on this site, an alternative scheme has been required to use £2m of Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) Brownfield Land Fund handed to the council to bring the proposed and much needed residential development to the town centre.
The grant requires a minimum of 84 residential units to be delivered at this location with a start on site to be no later than March 2025.
Price Street Car Park has been owned and operated by the Council for a number of years and is a four-acre brownfield site very close to Birkenhead town centre and with Conway Park Railway Station next to it.
It currently has in place planning consent from the original Wirral Growth Company masterplan that covers much of Birkenhead Town Centre for 189 residential apartments on the site. That proposed scheme was allocated £3.1m from Future High Street Fund.
Approval has now been given to press ahead with both projects, with details of them contained in reports on the council website. The reports outline timelines for both, with planning applications anticipated to be submitted November 2024. Subject to approval and review, both would aim to start on site by mid-2025.
You can read the reports on the council website – Price Street here and House of Fraser here.
