Peel gets ball rolling on Wirral Waters industrial

A trio of planning applications representing a £16m investment have been submitted to kickstart the delivery of 171,400 sq ft of logistics space in Birkenhead.

The Marine, Energy, and Automotive Park West is the part of the industrial component of Peel Waters’ plans for the 500-acre former dockland in Wirral. Known as MEA Park West, it sits on the corner of Wallasey Bridge Road and Dock Road, close to the M53. Its development is being led by Peel Waters subsidiary Wirral Waters.

The submitted applications, which have not yet appeared on Wirral Council’s planning portal, include proposals for the site remediation of four plots. Also on the to-do list: creating three access roads, building an energy sub-station, installing sustainable urban drainage systems, and expanding the Greenway active travel corridor.

A 45,000 sq ft speculative manufacturing unit on one of the four plots rounds out the planning application requests. Planning applications for the remaining 126,400 sq ft of logistics space on the other three plots will follow in due course.

In the future, Wirral Waters will also put in for the refurbishment of the 42,000 Mobil building at MEA Park. This building is currently being used by Starship as its modern methods of construction factory.

Wirral Waters estimates that MEA Park West will create 200 jobs when operational. The group says it has already attracted interest from a variety of occupiers.

“This planning application represents an important step forward in the delivery of MEA Park West – a key employment hub within Wirral Waters,” said Richard Mawdsley, director of development at Wirral Waters.

“By creating the infrastructure and high-quality space for a wide range of modern manufacturing and logistics businesses, we can attract new investment, support local supply chains, and deliver hundreds of new jobs for the immediate area,” he continued.

“It’s another strong signal that Wirral Waters is gathering real momentum.”

Broadway Malyan is the architect behind MEA Park West, with Eden Planning aiding in the application process. Curtins is providing engineering services.

This is not the first time the Wirral Waters team has teased a start at MEA Park. The developer submitted a planning application in April 2022 for 70,000 sq ft of industrial space – only to put those plans on the backburner once the area received freeport designation.