How Birkenhead’s public realm project ballooned in price
Costs roughly doubled for the Wirral Council-led endeavour, going from £12m to £24m over the course of a year and a half. Now, an internal audit report has outlined where it all went wrong.
The Birkenhead Town Centre Movement Project centred on Conway Street, Europa Boulevard, Grange Road, and Charing Cross. It called for the replacement of paving materials, introduction of fully segregated cycleways, planting of trees, and various pedestrian-driven safety interventions.
There were four areas highlighted as the cause for the increase in costs:
- Incomplete designs prior to contractor appointment
- Inadequate site investigations prior to contractor procurement
- Confusion over the responsibility of the project internally, with the regeneration and highways teams both working on it
- Insufficient project management resource, with Walker Sime brought in for two days a week, of which only one was spent on site, to oversee the project
Wirral Council Leader Cllr Paula Basnett described the cost rises as “completely unacceptable”.
“Residents must be confident that public money is being managed responsibly, transparently, and with full accountability,” she said. “Our communities deserve regeneration that is ambitious, but also well-executed and genuinely beneficial.”
Basnett went on to promise that the release of the audit report would be “a clear turning point for this council”.
“While the challenges are significant, knowing the scale of the problems is the first step to putting them right and that work has already begun,” she continued.
“This is about restoring trust, improving delivery, and making sure that every pound we spend delivers real value for the people of Wirral.”
The internal audit, commissioned by Basnett in July, walks the reader through the scheme’s past step-by-step.
Mott Macdonald was appointed in May 2022 to develop the designs for the project. GRAHAM was brought on board as the main contractor in March 2024. The project was funded through the Future High Streets Fund, a time-sensitive grant that mandated a contract be awarded prior to the end of March 2024.
Pressures to meet grant funding deadlines led to GRAHAM being hired before the designs were complete, which led to a four-week delay in starting on site. Insufficient site investigations contributed to the spiralling costs, according to the audit.
There were already problems prior to GRAHAM being appointed. Wirral Council officers had predicted a £4m overspend on the project in January 2024 and had begun working on a budget of around £16m.
That remained the assumed cost of the project until February, when GRAHAM told the council that the cost of the scheme would be £17m – a figure the council felt it could lower with some re-engineering.
It was not until February 2025 that the budget started increasing beyond expectations, with Walker Sime’s financial report forecasting the cost to be £18.5m. Still, there was optimism that the project could be delivered on budget and on time.
“Officers involved with the monitoring of the project have stressed that as late as March 2025 it remained the expectation of officers and project manager consultants that, with planned mitigations, the cost of the project could be managed within budget,” the audit reads.
All this changed in April 2025, when GRAHAM informed the council that the cost could now reach £21m. When asked about the increase in costs, the project manager was not able to provide the council with any detailed information.
“It is understood the consultant commented that the escalation in costs was so unexpected that they needed to fully scrutinise the information from the contractor before they could present the detail,” the audit report states.
On 19 May, the cost was confirmed as £23m. The next month, Walker Sime’s forecast had risen to £24m.
That cost could increase again, with the audit noting that as of 13 August there have been 223 compensation events with the contractor. Of these, 52 have been settled and 64 are currently being assessed. Clarification is being sought for the remaining 107.
Work has already been undertaken to get a better handle on the project, with highways taking over the delivery of the scheme and changing the project manager’s job from two days to a full-time role that is predominantly on site.
Going forward, the audit recommends a series of changes for similar projects, including:
- The council should ensure sufficient capacity on the team for the project, with a clear division of responsibilities. The report notes that there are now several years of regeneration projects in the pipeline, so now might be a good time to consider creating a dedicated, in-house project delivery team
- Each project should have a uniform and transparent project management approach
- Designs should be adequately developed and formally approved prior to a contract being awarded
- Site investigations should be executed properly prior to the contract award
Reflecting on the audit report, Wirral Council acting chief executive Jason Gooding said: “We can see that the cost of the Birkenhead Town Centre Movement Scheme was over budget before it had even begun, and from an initial £12m will now be potentially over £24m to complete, and significantly late as well.”
He added: “My priority is to restore confidence in the council’s ability to deliver meaningful regeneration that benefits the people of Wirral. That means ensuring robust governance, realistic planning, and full accountability at every stage of delivery. We are already taking decisive steps to get a firm grip on the wider regeneration programme and to place it on a sustainable and credible footing.”
The audit report will be discussed by councillors at a meeting on 2 September.
