LISCARD is in line to receive £10.7m Levelling Up funding as part of what will be a "major boost for the town and local traders".

Wirral Council had bid for Levelling Up Funding in July 2022 and was initially unsuccessful but the Government has looked again at the plans submitted by the local authority for the town centre.

For the latest round of Levelling Up Funding the Government has drawn on bids previously submitted which were not funded but were assessed as high-quality and ready-to-deliver. This includes the bid for the renewal of Liscard Town Centre.

Liscard is now one of 55 projects across the country to have been selected to receive cash from Round three of Levelling Up grants which total £1,105m.

To qualify for the funding the council must now confirm the initial bid will still benefit from Government funding, show the project is still deliverable by March 2026 and continues to represent value for money.

The original bid for Liscard by Wirral Council included investment in community facilities, upgraded shop frontages and unlocking development potential for leisure and retail, as well as improvements for pedestrians and cyclists.

The ambitious plans are also a key part of the council’s wider regeneration ambitions across the Left Bank of the borough, stretching from Bromborough and New Ferry through Birkenhead and Wirral Waters to Liscard and New Brighton.

'This is a huge boost for the town'

Leader of Wirral Council, Cllr Paul Stuart, said: "Liscard has struggled like so many town centres up and down the country as shopping habits have changed, and it has been important to the council to help it adapt to the changes in economic circumstances.

"This is a huge boost for the town and the funding will go some considerable way towards helping us make sure Liscard has a bright and prosperous future.

"I’m also pleased that funding such as this show how the council's broader ambitions for the Left Bank area are being recognised at a national level.

"The last few years have seen Wirral Council attracting significant funding to help us with regeneration that delivers for the people of this borough."

Cllr Janette Williamson, who led the council when the Levelling Up bid for Liscard was prepared and initially submitted, said: "We have fought long and hard for this funding and help for Liscard and I’m incredibly pleased to see that has now paid off after the disappointment earlier in the year.

"Liscard is on the up, it is seeing more and more independent businesses base themselves here, and this will go a long way to giving local traders and residents a well-deserved boost of confidence."

Wallasey Conservative councillor, Cllr Lesley Rennie, said: “After decades of neglect of Wallasey by Wirral Council, I’m delighted that they have, at long last, realised that something must be done and that the Government has agreed to back them. 

“In the last few years, Wirral Council has received almost £100m in regeneration cash and, so far, most of it has been used for Birkenhead. I’d hope this news is the beginning of a serious change of approach by the Council and will see real work to deal with the decline of Wallasey’s main shopping centre.”