WIRRAL Council has unanimously agreed to move forward plans for a new dockside restaurant as part of a £4m development. The Egerton Village project is one of the many projects being developed as part of the Wirral Waters regeneration scheme.

Egerton Village is a proposal by Peel L&P, the developer behind the Wirral Waters developments on the Birkenhead docks, to provide a dockside restaurant, bistro, a coffee shop, retail units, artist studios, workspaces as well as an outdoor event space. If it goes ahead, the project is estimated to create 49 full-time equivalent new jobs.

Planning permission was granted in 2019 for the development, funding was agreed in 2021, and in January 2024, Wirral Council agreed to sign a deal with a partnership company between one Peel company, Peel L&P Investments and Property Limited, and construction company Starship Group. This was subject to a number of conditions to ensure the funding is lawful and another Peel company, Peel L&P Holdings (UK) Ltd, being a guarantor for the project.

According to a January report, Peel said the partnership would “free up” on their end capacity to bring forward other key projects in Wirral Waters. However, a council report before a September regeneration committee meeting said Peel had told the council its position had changed and Peel Holdings would no longer act as guarantor for the project.

With this in mind, councillors unanimously approved on September 16 for officers to enter into a grant agreement with Peel L&P Investments and Property and Starship Regeneration Egerton Village Limited if all remaining terms agreed in January are sorted out. However this is now without a guarantee from Peel Holdings to step in if things don’t go to plan.

The project’s budget has previously been reported as being £4m and a council report in January said the local authority’s contribution would only cover 40% of the cost. While no exact figure has been put out by the local authority publicly about its contribution, those previous reports suggest it could be around £1.6m.

Wirral Council declined to comment as it relates to a committee report kept private as it is considered commercial sensitive.

According to the council report, the scheme if it goes ahead “will assist in retaining and attracting new employers and residents into the area” and “enhance the neighbourhood offer for businesses, students and the emerging residential community” including the newly completed Millers Quay scheme. There will be “a new semi-public, semi covered ‘square’ at its heart that will be used for events and other activities.”

Egerton Village sits within the Four Bridges area of Wirral Waters that includes the Hythe office building as well as the Wirral Met College campus. Richard Mawdsley, Director of Development for Wirral Waters, previously said: “We often work alongside partners and investors to deliver the multitude of projects in the Peel Waters portfolio – and this is no different for Wirral Waters.

“This allows us to bring in expertise, resource and specialist experience, and to increase development capacity to bring forward more regeneration projects and to help with delivery momentum.

“We are delighted to have the Starship Group as a partner to deliver Egerton Village. Starship is an innovative, forward thinking local business with significant expertise in modern methods of construction and sustainability. We look forward to the project being delivered and new amenities being in place for the fast-growing local community.”