Green light for Hind Street urban village plans
Work on a new urban village in Wirral is set to start later this year after councillors unanimously resolved to support the final stage of the planning process.
A former gasworks adjacent to Birkenhead town centre is now a step closer to seeing hundreds of new homes built on it.
The planning application for the development was welcomed by Wirral Council’s Strategic Applications Sub Committee which met at Wallasey town hall on Thursday January 16.
This means the council’s Chief Planner is authorised to approve the application subject to its referral to Secretary of State, which must be done because the application is a departure from the council’s Unitary Development Plan.
Councillors on the committee supported the application which includes detailed consent for the primary enabling works – for which the council has secured £52 million of funding from Homes England and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA).
In addition, the application seeks outline consent for the housing – up to 1,600 new homes – and associated development that will follow the remediation and infrastructure works.
Work is expected to begin on the Hind Street site in autumn 2025. It will see derelict land around Hind Street turned into a new community with homes, a new park, improved transport links, commercial space and leisure facilities, as well as the eventual removal of adjacent flyovers to give the new development better links to the town centre.
While the first phases of this work will be remediation of the site to address any contamination from its previous industrial uses, there will also be works to provide new roads, active travel links and the start of the Dock Branch Park project.
The project is being delivered by Wirral Council in partnership with developers ION Developments Ltd. The works are anticipated to take two years and will be undertaken by John Sisk & Son while ION will be managing the implementation of these works on behalf of the Council, and then will be delivering the housing once these remediation/infrastructure works have been completed.
The planning application is also the first step to demolishing the nearby flyovers, work on which will begin at a later phase in the development, with continuing work throughout the demolition process to ensure the process of the removal of the flyovers minimises traffic congestion.
Homes England, the government’s housing and regeneration agency, has agreed a £29 million investment in the project, with a similar commitment from the LCRCA bringing the investment to £52million to fund the vital infrastructure works needed to unlock the site and deliver the first 633 homes.
Councillor Paul Stuart, Leader of Wirral Council said:
Hind Street is a key element of our ambitious regeneration programme, in this case unlocking a brownfield site which has remained empty for many years to deliver much needed new homes, close to the town centre of Birkenhead.
We are totally committed to changing this part of Birkenhead for the benefit of local communities and our plans for regeneration go beyond just building – we are focussed on boosting Wirral’s economy in the long term, reducing inequalities, creating employment opportunities and improving the health and wellbeing of those individuals and families who are making their homes and lives in our borough.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:
Hind Street is a really exciting project and I’m so pleased that we’ve now secured the green light to press on with development.
This is a massive step forward for the Liverpool City Region and for the future of Wirral. It perfectly embodies the type of investment we want to be making – taking formerly derelict land and transforming it into something that will be used and enjoyed for generations to come.
Not only will Hind Street provide the much-needed housing that our city region needs, it will also create new jobs and boost the local economy.
Rob Mason, development director at ION Developments, said:
We are pleased that the application has passed this next stage of agreement and this is another crucial step forward for our exciting plans for Hind Street.
This is a complex project and we are grateful to the Council's planning team for the diligent and proactive way they have approached it to date.
We now look forward to beginning remediation of the site and implementing key infrastructure works on the first phase to the south of Hind Street later this year.
Eamonn Boylan, Chief Executive of Homes England, said:
The Hind Street project is a perfect example of Homes England’s mission in action, to support local and combined authority partners in bringing brownfield sites back to life by building new homes and creating thriving places.
We’re encouraged to see progress being made on the project, planning approval is an important step in any regeneration project and this significant milestone enables Wirral Council and partners to begin the work of preparing the site before the creation of new homes, green space and leisure facilities can start.
We look forward to seeing the project begin to take shape and the council’s ambitious plans for the regeneration of Birkenhead come to life.
The planning application can be viewed on the agenda for the Strategic Applications Sub Committee along with a webcast of the meeting, available here: Agenda for Strategic Applications Sub Committee on Thursday, 16th January 2025, 6.00 p.m. | Wirral Council
