WIRRAL Council plans to invest £12m to improve the condition of Wallasey Town Hall over the next 15 years.

The historic building has been the main base for Wirral Council since it formed in 1974.

Over the last year, Wirral Council has been looking at what to do with its town halls in Birkenhead and Wallasey.

The local authority had closed Wallasey Town Hall in 2023 to save money in that year's budget but it reopened earlier this year over security concerns following a number of incidents in Birkenhead.

Both town halls are listed buildings but the council has previously said "it is not a good use of resources to retain two underused town halls."

After agreement by councillors on Wednesday (November 6), the council will continue to hold council meetings in Wallasey.

It will also move over its Registrars service from Birkenhead to Wallasey and look at suspending day-to-day operations in Birkenhead to save money.

A report on the options for Birkenhead will be brought back to councillors including the future of Birkenhead weddings while a £12m investment in Wallasey Town Hall funded either by bids or borrowing is expected to move ahead at a later date.

The £12m figure is based on the work needed on the building including its walls, roof, electrics, and heating system.

If it was to borrow the money, this could hit council services with a £1.2m annual bill over 20 years.

There were costs related to Birkenhead Town Hall too with a council report saying £9.5m is needed there over 15 years.

Proposals were put forward by Wirral's Green Party asking for the council to consider using its new office building Mallory at Alice Ker Square in Birkenhead and close both town halls.

They argued using the town halls was "an extravagant waste of money" and this was a "common sense solution."

However, council officers said this option would actually cost the council more money.

Finance director Matthew Bennett said this is because Wallasey and Birkenhead town halls' listed status requires the council to maintain them to a high standard as their owners even if the buildings are closed.

Mr Bennett said it would still be required as "it's the basic amount needed to bring the building into a reasonable condition and keep the lights on."

Pointing to the council’s financial position, he said moving to Mallory would just cost the council more and not save money unless it sold the town halls.

Wirral Council would also need to spend an estimated £3m extra if it wanted to start hosting council meetings from Mallory and would lose out on money from possible tenants.

The potential for staff safety to be impacted in the event of any protest was also highlighted.

Staff were reportedly left shaken after one incident involving protestors over the war in Gaza at Birkenhead Town Hall and Conservative leader councillor Jeff Green said he had been concerned physical violence might have broken out at one point against one councillor.

He accused the Green Party, who had supported the protests, of creating a dangerous situation for councillors.