A museum that’s been closed for a year could soon be set for a £4.5m upgrade as another project is cancelled.

Wirral Council officers are asking councillors to approve re-allocating £4.5m of government grant funding to the Wirral Transport Museum. The funding had previously been awarded to create a new transport exhibit called the Transport Shed in the Dock Branch Park, a redevelopment of an old train line central to the council’s plans to regenerate Birkenhead.

The transfer was first reported by the council in 2023 when the local authority revealed its latest investment plan for the town with funding being reallocated to a similar project in Woodside. This was approved by councillors but only now have details been made public about where the funding is going.

Wirral Council is arguing its plans for the Transport Shed, which it has spent £456,109.90 on, are now undeliverable by March 2026 and believes Big Heritage as the Transport Museum’s new operators will be able to deliver the project in time. Big Heritage hopes to establish three attractions in Woodside including a new U-Boat museum.

Since it took over the Wirral Transport Museum in 2023, Big Heritage said they want to “completely transform the museum” using between £5m and £6m and double its size, creating more space for people to move around. The non-profit said: “”The overarching aim of the redevelopment is to create a new transport museum that not only displays locally relevant vehicles, but also collects and shares hundreds of stories of the journeys local people took and the influence these trips had on their lives.”

The local authority transferred the museum over to Big Heritage in 2023 amid concerns about its future and the change was supported by Mersey Tramway Preservation Society. However the transfer has not been without controversy after volunteers were shut out and the museum closed due to serious health and safety issues.

As a result of the changes, it’s believed the museum could see a footfall of 100,000 visitors and 200 school class visitors with 10 jobs created in the first year and 18 by year five. Volunteers will still be included with a target of around 15 to 20 roles and are a key part of Big Heritage’s application.

Dean Paton, Big Heritage’s CEO, previously told the LDRS: “I think by 2026, we will have an offer on Woodside that will be the envy of any town in Merseyside. A huge strong new attraction. What is going to make people drive two hours to come to Birkenhead? You are not going to drive that distance for one thing as it’s not a full day out.”

He said by linking the museums together with their Liverpool museum Western Approaches, it will help draw Liverpool’s many tourists over the water, adding: “Where is the audience? Our challenge is they are literally sailing off every day. There’s nothing for them to get off for. It’s a unique opportunity to capture that market.”

Mr Paton added: “We know what we are doing. We have got a track record. When you look at Western Approaches, it was derelict and got the odd visitor but now we have queues out of the door today. Sometimes things need a fresh look.”

According to a report brought before the local authority’s regeneration committee, just under £1.4m will be able to be reallocated to other projects while the money spent on the Transport Shed won’t be subject to clawback.  This was £395,273 when the council’s investment plan was announced but has since increased by £60,836.

The Dock Branch Park is currently in limbo as Wirral Council surveys seven bridges and one tunnel along an old railway line connecting proposed developments at Hind Street to those at Wirral Waters. Regeneration chair Cllr Tony Jones previously said: “This step will open the way for the council to acquire the land and begin work on bringing the park to fruition, while at the same time making sure council tax payers aren’t saddled with the costs of replacing or repairing bridges.”