Runcorn and Birkenhead net approval for £39m Town Deal projects

The government has signed off detailed business cases for four proposed projects from Halton Council and nine from Wirral Council.

Runcorn

Halton Council and Runcorn Town Deal Board were awarded £23.6m in Town Deal money last year for the Reconnecting Runcorn scheme, but only £14m has been released from government coffers. That is because the council only submitted four out of its seven projects for business case approval. The remaining three projects will have their business cases submitted to government this month.

The four projects submitted, however, have had their business cases cleared by the government.

Adrian Fillingham, chair of the Runcorn Town Deal Board, described the business case approvals as “great news for Runcorn”.

He added later: “While we are delighted that the funding has been released, this is tempered by a degree of caution, given the current challenges being faced by national and global economies – of which Runcorn will not be immune…

“Most of our seven projects are still in the early stages of development, with some projects expected to start on site during summer 2023, so we will need to watch closely to see how the situation develops into next year to determine what the impact may be for our Reconnecting Runcorn plans.”

The four approved projects are:

• Runcorn Station Quarter: Halton Council wants to transform Elite House into an “enterprise facility” with offices. Situated near Runcorn rail, Elite House was acquired by the council last year. The local authority hopes that by providing offices, new businesses will come to the town and provide more job opportunities.
• Brindley Theatre Enhancement: The Brindley theatre would receive a two-storey extension, designed by Ellis Williams Architects, under this project plan. The extension would house a restaurant and a library. The project also includes HBC Landscape’s plans to enhance Brindley Green. A planning application for the proposed extension was submitted earlier this year, with the reference number 22/00417/HBCFUL.
• Health and Education Hub: Runcorn’s library building on Granville Street will be repurposed into a health and education facility, according to these plans. The library will be moved to the Brindley.
• Creative and Digital Skills Centre: Halton Council wants to create a skills facility on High Street to assist with creative and digital training. Part of the project is complete, with 71 High Street restored and ready for Hazlehurst Arts Collective to occupy it. Plans submitted by Liverpool-based K2\ Architects show how 59, 63, and 65 High Street would be repurposed for the scheme – as well as how a youth centre could be built on the site of 47 High Street. The application reference number for the project on Halton’s planning portal is 22/00542/HBCFUL.

The remaining three projects awaiting business case submission are:

• Unlock Runcorn: This project would restore the canal link between the Manchester Ship Canal and Bridgewater Canal by creating a 150-metre canal bed. Arcadis is working on this scheme, which is still in early design stages.
• Town Centre New Homes: This project would enable the delivery of 104 homes and a community-led housing project on two sites in the Old Town district: one at 81 High Street and the other near Ashridge Street and Rutland Street. Anwyl has submitted a planning application for the High Street site, which has an application reference number of 22/00130/FUL. Ellis Williams has conducted a feasibility study for the other site, which would be developed by a Community Land Trust made up of local residents and supported by Breaking Ground CIC and the council.
• High Street Connectivity: Improving High Street for pedestrians and cycles is a key aspect of this project, which also includes creating a pedestrian footbridge across the Bridgewater Canal. The scheme calls for the building of a Buddhist temple near Waterloo Bridge to help with wayfinding. Plans for the temple were approved in 2020 and can be found using application reference number 20/00019/FUL. The project also includes a community peace garden by the station. Plans were approved for the garden last year and can be found using reference number 21/00593/FUL.

Public realm improvements to Hamilton Square are among the Birkenhead projects greenlit. Credit: Smith & Brown Accountants, via CC BY 2.0 smithbrownaccountants.co.uk

Birkenhead

Wirral had been awarded £25m from the Town Deal fund last year. The council’s Birkenhead regeneration efforts have also received £24.6m from the Future High Streets fund, £8.3m from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, and £1m from Town Deal accelerator funds.

The projects range from the creation of a transport-based attraction to public realm improvements to a health and wellbeing hub.

Cllr Tony Jones, chair of Wirral Council’s economy, regeneration, and development committee, said: “This is an ambitious range of projects and it is timely that we are working to deliver real change for the people of Birkenhead and Wirral, using this opportunity to help strengthen the local economy.

“Birkenhead has a real sense that change is coming and optimism for the future of the town. This funding is one part of the wider ambition for Birkenhead and Wirral and people are already seeing a difference.”

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Leigh-Anne Stradeski, chair of the Town Deal Board, said the government’s approval was a “major step forward for Birkenhead”.

She continued: “Many people have worked really hard to make sure local people were listened to and to put forward plans which would drive the changes they want to see and help us all work towards a brighter future for Birkenhead.”

The approved projects are:

• The Transport Shed: This scheme will create a transport-based visitor attraction that will be run by National Museums Liverpool. It will be located within Dock Branch Park.
• Education Engagement Network: Improvements will be made to seven buildings to create a “hub and spoke network of service delivery bringing together education, advice, guidance, and specialist services,” according to the council.
• Egerton House: Wirral Chamber of Commerce would repurpose part of Egerton House to serve as an incubation zone for smaller businesses within the business, financial, professional services, and digital sectors.
• Waterfront Animation and Creativity Project: Money will be invested in Eureka! Science + Discovery, Woodside, and Birkenhead Priory. This project also includes public realm improvements to Hamilton Square.
• Sustainability Central: This project focuses on refurbishing, repurposing, and retrofitting a building within the Wirral Waters Enterprise Zone, as well as the surrounding outdoor area to create a space that can host events and workshops on sustainability.
• Joy: Charity Open Door will provide services to help those in need of mental health and wellbeing support through arts and culture.
• Future Yard Music Skills Venue: Money will be used to finish the second and third phases of the live music venue project, which opened its first phase in autumn 2019. These next phases will create 6,800 sq ft of music-specific project spaces and skills development infrastructure. Future Yard CIC runs the skills venue.
• StartYard: This project focuses on reusing a former industrial garage building, owned by Microzine Creative, to create a creative biosphere in Birkenhead’s Cammell Laird waterfront area.
• The Argyle Street Creative Hub: The scheme is dedicated to acquiring and redeveloping a vacant property into a cultural and community creative space to be operated by Make CIC.

Those who have been following the Birkenhead Town Deal will notice the absence of one project from the above list: EXPO Village, which had been described as a three-year laboratory for testing the homes of the future. Over the summer, the Birkenhead Town Deal Board opted to not pursue this project and did not submit a business case for it to the government.

A spokesperson for Wirral Council elaborated: “The Town Deal Board at its meeting on 24th June decided not to progress the EXPO Village project as it was concluded it would not be possible to deliver it in the timeframe set by government.

“A new project, Sustainability Central, will deliver on some of the outcomes originally anticipated for EXPO Village, and the remaining funding was reallocated to the other projects in the programme.”