CONCERNS are being raised about Wirral Council’s approach to regenerating the borough after the council backed out of a major waterfront project and its fourth director of regeneration in two years left suddenly.

Warnings have been issued to the local authority from Wirral’s business community, a key developer, a former MP, and a former council staff member.

The day before the local authority held its latest regeneration committee meeting , the LDRS reported how Marc Cole, who had been appointed to replace David Hughes as an interim regeneration director in April, told the council he was unable to continue in the role. A council spokesperson said: “We wish him the best for his health and future endeavours.”

The following day at the meeting on July 16, councillors unanimously decided to pull back on the Maritime Knowledge Hub plans which hoped to transform the Hydraulic Tower in Birkenhead. Since then, several letters have been sent to the local authority’s leading councillors as well as senior officials raising concerns about the council’s current direction.

These were written by the Wirral Chamber of Commerce, Peel Waters, former Birkenhead MP Mick Whitley, and a former senior council officer. However, Wirral Council leader Cllr Paul Stuart, said the local authority’s plans were “already moving forward at pace” and “some projects change and develop over time as circumstances change.”

A letter from the Chamber’s directors said there was “significant concern with the business community regarding the high turnover of leadership” as well as lack of engagement with the business sector over the last two years which it said “has been an ever-increasing problem.” The Chamber said the council “seems to have closed its doors on partnership working.”

On July 16, they said there was discontent among business leaders as they had been given no notice by the council over Mr Cole’s departure prior to the LDRS breaking the news, adding: “Businesses are extremely concerned and agree collectively, this cannot carry on.”

Labour councillor, Paula Basnett, is currently the chair of the Chamber of Commerce and was copied into the email sent to the council. Despite this, a representative of the Chamber insisted Cllr Basnett “was not to be part of the discussion or indeed a signatory of the letter to maintain her independence as a councillor.”

Similar concerns have been raised by Peel’s Richard Mawdsley, development director for Wirral Waters, said they were “surprised and disappointed” by what council officers had put forward, arguing Peel and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority “had all believed that we had reached a “sweet spot.” He said this included Wirral Council’s liabilities being covered for ten years but no clear position had been offered by the council.

He said this was the third time the council had withdrawn support for the project, adding: “We accept it is a difficult project but sometimes the hard things to do are also the right things to do. Regeneration is complicated. We can all throw in the towel, talk ourselves out of projects, and dwell on the negatives. Peel could do that too.” 

Mr Mawdsley said there was no Plan B for the tower and asked for better communication with councillors going forward on other Wirral Waters projects, adding it was “probably increasingly important given last night’s announcement about Marc Cole’s sudden departure.”

Birkenhead’s former MP Mick Whitley, a key backer of the Hub project, was scathing, arguing the local authority faced “minimal risks and were being presented with a golden opportunity to make Wirral Waters a booming centre of maritime excellence.” He said the council had adopted “a negative backsliding approach.”

Referring to controversial decisions about Birkenhead Market, he said: “I find it hard to accept that the first half of my tenure as the MP for Birkenhead saw us win a number of important funding bids for the transformation of my town, yet now what money is now being spent on a cosmetic job on an old Argos store and the demolition of the old Beatties store while the chance of bringing lasting prosperity to Wirral Waters through the restoration of the hydraulic tower is being spurned.

“This council is in danger of condemning Birkenhead to a spiral of decline instead of the ambitious programme of regeneration that it previously championed.” 

A former council officer who worked with former regeneration director Alan Evans to develop the local authority’s plans to regenerate Birkenhead by 2040 wrote to councillors he had serious concerns about the council’s approach following the departure of all senior officers who worked on the plans for the local authority. He said a key policy for Birkenhead finished last year still hadn’t been published and argued delays mean “there is a significant risk of green belt release in the near future.”

Though a council report on the hydraulic tower said the local authority “does not wish to aim for mediocrity,” he argued this was what the council was doing. He said officers had previously worked to bring in funding through “quality development which would have lead to improved confidence and an uplift in land and rental values.” The former officer said since 2022, there had been little progress on a number of key projects.

He said there was a major opportunity for the council to lobby the new Labour government for funding due to the local authority’s brownfield first approach, new town development, and densification plans but the council “must also do its part.” He said it should not be doing this on an ad hoc basis, adding: “The council must invest in the regeneration of the LeftBank if young people are to have a future, new homes, and a pleasant place to live.”

In response, Wirral Council leader Cllr Paul Stuart, said: “Wirral’s Local Plan is very close to its final stage and its adoption will lay the clear outline for development in the borough for the next generation.

“The Local Plan provides for a brownfield-only direction for future development and delivery of new homes and the necessary infrastructure to support them, clearly protecting the borough’s Green Belt.

“Aligned to the Local Plan is the wider regeneration ambition focusing the on the east side of Wirral, which is already moving forward at pace, with numerous projects underway and set for delivery in the near future.

“Regeneration is a complex and lengthy process and some projects change and develop over time as circumstances change. A number of significant regeneration schemes such as the recently completed two new office buildings in Birkenhead Commercial District, Millers Quay and Hythe are already illustrating Wirral’s commitment and ability to deliver on regeneration projects.

“Those now coming forward will build on the success of those already delivered, giving the private sector even greater confidence in Wirral.

“Wirral Council is committed to its broader regeneration programme and to delivering the vision set out in the emerging Local Plan, while also remaining focused on providing value for money and protecting the best outcomes for local council tax payers.”