A £25m new research hub has been given the greenlight and 15 new homes are up for sale in the latest developments of the Wirral Waters project.

The new homes have just gone on the market on Redbridge Quay in Seacombe and are part of Peel L&P’s 30-year plans for the Birkenhead docks which will see hundreds of new apartments as well as new business and research space.

Recently, planning permission was also granted by Wirral Council to create a new £25m maritime research hub in the old Central Hydraulic Tower. The tower used to use steam to power the docks but over the years became derelict and a home for rats and pigeons.

The new hub, which Peel is hoping to get off the ground this year, will look at making the shipping industry more sustainable and the developer will now submit a business case for funding from the Liverpool City Region.

The new 15 homes will be a mix of two or three floors properties and according to Peel create “a vibrant urban community with a calm suburban vibe, a soothing waterside location, and shared communal gardens with access to new public open spaces.”

Peel also said the new homes would be 50% more energy efficient compared to the equivalent floor space in a traditional build home and were made using sustainable timber.

The new “Row Houses” will start at £190,000 and go up to £250,000 while the nearby Town Houses are selling between £325,000 to £390,000. Each house has been designed slightly differently with access to a communal gardens.

Rachel Jones, Land and New Homes Manager at Jones and Chapman, said: “For me Wirral Waters and Redbridge Quay is simply history in the making and is destined to be one of the most popular locations on the Wirral for years to come. It’s not just a case of dropping some houses on an empty plot and moving on, Wirral Waters has been thoughtfully and carefully designed with the community at its heart.”

However some concerns have been raised by Councillor David Burgess-Joyce who said he was speaking from his experience as an estate agent as well as councillor. He said he was worried about gentrification and that a significant rise in house prices could lead to people being pushed out of the areas like Seacombe.

Though he praised the developments as positive, exciting and that the Maritime Knowledge Hub “will look fantastic when it’s done,” he said he was concerned a significant increase in house prices could push people out of the area and onto the rental market.

Cllr Burgess-Joyce said brownfield and major housing development was needed in Wirral as “there has got to be houses for people to get onto the ladder, all that stuff you should expect in a first world country” but added: “We have a duty to those on the lower economic scale and I am worried people are going to be priced out of Seacombe and Liscard.”

He said: “It’s not just the figures. What worries me about them is it is not proper housing in the grand scheme of things. In just my personal opinion I would prefer something more family orientated, they aren’t really family homes.”

“I worry that we are trying to over modernise something and I worry it’s not going to cater for families.”

Richard Mawdsley, Director of Development at Peel L&P’s Wirral Waters, in response said: “The Northbank neighbourhood area of Wirral Waters will soon become a new diverse, inclusive and sustainable waterside community that interconnects with existing communities.

“Across Northbank, over 1,000 new homes will be delivered in the next 3-4 years, with a wide range of price points and tenure types that will attract a range of new residents, from young to old, from people living on their own to large families.

“The Millers Quay development will include 500 one and two-bedroom waterfront apartments, including 100 affordable new homes. Redbridge Quay and adjacent sites will deliver approximately 350 mixed typology high quality, energy efficient, family homes from two to four bedrooms – including those on sale now.

“If anyone has any questions about the homes on sale now, or the plans for the wider Wirral Waters area, they are very welcome to speak to one of the team or drop into the sales centre at Redbridge Quay.”

The homes are located on Dock Rd, Seacombe, CH41 1DS with a drop-in public open day from 10am to 4pm on Saturday March 18.