TALKS will end on a major £21m scheme that would have seen the regeneration of a derelict tower on the Birkenhead docks. In a major blow to the scheme Wirral Council agreed to no longer move ahead with the project saying it could no longer afford to back it.

The Hydraulic Tower on Tower Road on the Birkenhead docks, that can be seen from Liverpool, was expected to be turned into a £25m new maritime research centre at the very heart of the Wirral Waters regeneration project overseen by Peel Waters. The business case for the development said it could deliver economic benefits of £18m, 275 jobs, and nearly 50,000 square feet of business, teaching, and workspace.

Though Wirral Council had previously said it “backed this project all the way” and its support was “the only way to make this scheme viable,” councillors voted unanimously to bring discussions to a close and shelve the project at an economy and regeneration committee meeting on July 16. Vice-chair Cllr Andrew Hodson said he was “disappointed this decision had to be done tonight,” adding: “We have to look at the reality that we can’t afford it.”

Doubt was first cast over the project’s future in 2023, when Wirral Council said interest rates had made previous plans to support the scheme unviable. The project was removed from the council’s regeneration programme in January 2024, but in March the local authority was still pursuing further talks to reach a new agreement.

However, a July 2024 economic, regeneration, and housing committee report said that while “alternative solutions may be found in due course,” current proposals would mean “the Council would be exposed to the risk of operating the asset and servicing the proposed lease over a period of 50 years.”

Since March, the scheme had been reduced in size by 10% meaning planning permission would be needed again and the project’s budget, which was once £25m, had been reduced to £21.1m. Of this, £8m was proposed to be funded through freeport funding and another £1.7m from the council’s Wirral Waters Investment Fund.

Private funding would then be secured through the council taking the lease on the building and gathering income from occupiers. Though this is considered acceptable for Peel and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, the report said the council’s reasons for investment were more for regeneration and “there are still very significant risks.”

Councillors sought assurances the door wouldn’t be closed on negotiations and officers said they would continue to work with Peel. Director of Finance Matthew Bennett said it was “a really exciting proposal” but “unfortunately we have to take into account the council’s current financial position,” adding: “We simply can’t afford it at the moment.”

The decision taken by all political parties is a major blow to the Wirral Waters plans to regenerate Birkenhead docks as it was originally meant to be one of the first major projects delivered on the waterfront. Wirral Waters promises to be the largest regeneration project in the UK with 13,000 homes and 20,000 jobs created.

Richard Mawdsley, development director for Wirral Waters, previously told the LDRS he was disappointed by the council’s move, adding: “The Maritime Knowledge Hub has always been an ambitious and challenging project however these transformational regeneration projects cannot happen without true collaboration and without the support of the local authority.”

He said: “We will look at alternative solutions but without the support of Wirral Council, this iconic building may remain derelict for years to come.”

At the meeting, councillors also approved several masterplans which outline developments for central Birkenhead and New Brighton while it will review plans for Scott’s Quay in Seacombe. It also approved re-allocating £4.5m to go towards a revamp of the Wirral Transport Museum,