FUNDING will be granted to help kickstart a development that will see 1,400 new homes in Birkenhead soon according to Wirral Council. New documents published by the local authority suggest funding will be granted this summer to help deliver an initial 633 homes.
The Hind Street Urban Village development hopes to bring in over £300m of public and private investment into Birkenhead and is one of the largest planned projects being moved forward by Wirral Council as part of its regeneration plans. Investment is expected to come from Homes England and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority for the project as well as more than £200m private sector funding.
The development will cover more than 26 hectares, the equivalent of 49 football pitches, on derelict industrial land behind Birkenhead Central station on what was once the banks of the River Mersey. The beach was later reclaimed following the construction of the Cammell Laird shipyard.
The project is heavily tied into plans for the Wirral town centre as well as plans for a new park in Birkenhead that is planned to stretch from Wirral Waters to Green Lane train station. Council partner Ion Developments submitted an application for 1,578 homes with the first phase seeing over 600 homes built.
No announcement has been made about the scheme since the planning application was submitted in August 2023 but recently published financial Wirral Council accounts suggest government funding for the scheme is imminent. The accounts said the planning application is expected to be approved this summer for 1,400 homes.
The document added: “A Business Case has also been submitted to Homes England and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) to secure the funding required to deliver the first 633 of these homes. Again, we expect confirmation that this funding has been secured in summer 2024.”
A lot of work will need to be carried out at Hind Street to get it off the ground including moving and upgrading the site’s gasworks and will need large sums of public funding to become viable. Ion has previously said works to prepare the site are expected to take about two years with a four year programme for the first 600 homes.
After the first phase, there’s potential future developments including the removal of two flyovers to the Birkenhead Tunnel, higher rise buildings, new commercial and office space, as well as hotels.
However, no timeline has been given by other partners involved in the project for any funding announcement. A spokesperson for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority said: “We have been working with Wirral Council and Homes England for some time on plans to develop the Hind Street area in Birkenhead. We can confirm the Combined Authority has now received a full business case for funding for the scheme which is currently being considered.”
A spokesperson for Homes England told the LDRS “the business case for the project is currently under appraisal, and we will be unable to provide any information until the appraisal is complete.”
A funding announcement would come at a crucial time for the local authority as it waits for its draft Local Plan, a major development policy, to be approved which promises to build thousands of homes in Bromborough, Birkenhead and Seacombe. Wirral Council is also facing serious questions raised by political figures, a key developer, former staff, and local businesses over whether it can deliver a real regeneration of areas like Birkenhead.
Wirral Council said it would not be offering further comment.
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