Wirral agrees land deal for £15m Dock Branch Park

The authority will acquire the southern section of the mothballed rail line, a key part of the Dock Branch Neighbourhood, to pave the way for the 1,600-home Hind Street Urban Village.

Wirral Council voted to progress plans to purchase the plot from Network Rail at its policy and resources committee meeting yesterday.

The local authority endeavours to acquire the northern portion of the Dock Branch line at a later date. Buying the line from Network Rail in two stages will “safeguard the council from taking on potentially significant financial liabilities associated with the structures in the northern section of the line”, according to a council report.

The 8.5-acre former rail corridor will be transformed into a linear park under the council’s vision for the area. A £14.9m funding bid to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority for the project is currently waiting for approval.

The public space would run through Dock Branch Neighbourhood, which is earmarked for 1,000 homes.

It would also connect to Hind Steet Urban Village, the redevelopment of a 65-acre former gas works into 1,600 homes and 600,000 sq ft of commercial.

Dock Branch line is a section of a former railway line that ran from Rock Ferry to Bidston Dock. The line first opened in 1838 and was mothballed in 1993.