Wirral Waters apartments set for approval

A reserved matters application for Wirral Waters One, a 500-home project at East Float Dock in Peel’s Wirral Waters will be considered at planning committee next Thursday, with a recommendation for approval.

Along with an application for 430,000 sq ft of offices in a mixed-use creative industries quarter at Vittoria Studios East, the scheme was submitted in May for reserved matters, the two applications meeting the condition set at the granting of outline consent in 2012 over the phasing of development.

The apartment scheme is proposed by Peel Land & Property and Legacy, a company founded by footballers Rio Ferdinand, Mark Noble and Bobby Zamora. The JV said in October that it intends to start work on the Glenn Howells Architects-designed scheme next summer. Comprising a mix of 256 one-bedroom and 280 two-bedroom apartments, 20% of the scheme will be classed as affordable dwellings.

Turley’s planning statement said that is design terms, “the building façades utilise a mix of materials including corrugated sheet cladding and a pre-cast construction which will provide identity and character. Bold colours will complement the existing maritime environment.”

The project is funded by Aviva and also counts the council as a partner, Wirral having agreed a business case for the project at a cabinet meeting on 1 October.

Along with the apartments, the scheme includes supporting amenities and multi-use spaces, secure courtyards and public spaces billed as Festival Square and Duke Street Plaza

The site is bounded by Dock Road to the north, to the south by the dock edge and to the west by Duke Street, forming the western part of Wirral Waters’ Northbank quarter. Other parts of Northbank coming forward are the Belong dementia care facility and Urban Splash’s proposed modular scheme.

No major issues with the proposal are highlighted by statutory consultees, with the only potential sticking point being a notification from the council’s housing officer that depending on level of occupation, some apartments could fall below the threshold of the Nationally Described Space Standards, although Wirral has in any case not yet adopted NDSS.

The report notes however that “it must be recognised that the scheme is pioneering in terms of its scale and ambition in this part of Wirral; it is the first residential scheme to be delivered as part of the Wirral Waters scheme. It must be treated as such, recognising that it is seeking to deliver large-scale build to rent development in a part of Wirral with no existing build to rent or apartment-led housing market of note”.

The design team includes Parkinson Inc, the masterplanner for Wirral Waters, along with Glenn Howells Architects, Re-form Landscape Architects and Vectos Transport Consultants with Turley as planner.

East Float Masterplan

Overview of proposed development areas at Wirral Waters

Your Comments

Read our comments policy

This looks great.

By Thumbs Up

Corrugated sheet cladding… Peel is really spoiling the residents of the Wirral!

By Anonymous

Very smart!

By Anonymous

Very nice indeed

By Matt

Is that area not classed as Birkenhead not Wirral? I know people can get a bit funny about this sort of thing. I think they look like those huts that people pay a fortune for – but can’t think where they are?

By Russell Bolton

Finally! Peel now need to step up and deliver the other 12500 they have promised to help regenerate the Birkenhead area.

Its interesting to note the lack of desire to build 12500 by Peel as it isn’t profitable to do so yet. The business model Peel want to promote is not aligned with WBC local Plan (35 years).

WBC face massive back lash over the proposals to use green belt when they haven’t been able to justify the ‘need’ locally.

Peels lack of progress only goes to show this is indeed the case.

Something not quite right with WBC Local Plan, 13000 houses for an area with ageing and declining population?

Perhaps the area needs more jobs first which is why Peel are holding back.

By J Bird

Despite all the controversy over Wirral Waters, this is actually a very good scheme indeed. Slightly Scandinavian in feel are those wharf-style buildings but also totally contemporary too with their pastel hues. Good public realm on the water front part. From me, this gets an 8/10.

By SW

Related Articles

Sign up to receive the Place Daily Briefing

Join more than 13,000 property professionals and receive your free daily round-up of built environment news direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Join more than 13,000 property professionals and sign up to receive your free daily round-up of built environment news direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you are agreeing to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

"*" indicates required fields

Your Job Field*
Other regional Publications - select below