Wirral looks to redesign £26m Birkenhead waterfront project
In a bid to reduce costs, the council will vote on Tuesday whether to proceed with a value-engineered version of the scheme to improve the green spaces and active travel infrastructure in the area around Argyle Street, Hamilton Square, Hamilton Street, Woodside Gyratory, and the promenade.
The proposed changes keep in line with the overall aims of the project but will be deliverable within the scheme’s £25.6m budget and spring 2028 deadline, according to Wirral council officers.
The redesign was sparked after contractor John Sisk & Sons sent a revised cost plan in October that was significantly over budget. This was due to inflation and risks associated with realigning kerb lines and disturbing utilities in a historic environment.
Councillors on Tuesday will also have the option to abandon the plans or only develop part of it – two choices that would damage the local authority’s reputation and could impact the effectiveness of the scheme, according to the officer report.
The revised plans will see the addition of green spaces and a walking/cycling corridor between Hamilton Square Station and Woodside Ferry Terminal. Hamilton Square Station’s arrival will be remodelled to become a multi-modal transport interchange. A children’s play area will be added. The heritage tramway will also be kept, with an eye to it being brought back into use in the future.
Other proposals include replacing the Argyle Street and Conway Street roundabout with a signalised junction and toucan crossings, resurfacing carriageways at Hamilton Square, and adding a “super crossing” – aka a six-metre toucan crossing – across Chester Street to connect Hamilton Square Station to Woodside.
Money for the project breaks down to £12.6m from Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s successful active travel Levelling Up Fund bid and £13m from the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government’s Local Regeneration Fund.
The original proposals for the waterfront were consulted on in October 2024. At that time, the council had hoped to start construction in the summer of 2025 and complete the scheme in 2026.
It will end up costing them at least £40 million on past Wirral form even if scaled down. Perhaps best to put it to one side for now before they have to put the bin lorries up for sale on eBay and send the mayor’s gold chain to Cash Converters.
By Anonymous
All the better for being grounded in economic reality.
By Anonymous
That’s always the danger when Councils put funding bids together that are more based around meeting the funding envelope available rather than the real world delivery costs.
By Anonymous
Forget the bike lanes, use the money to extend the tram to Seacombe.
By Anon
Agree with anonymous, put a pin it in and focus on selling vacant sites for private sector development with outline planning permission to bring in some decent money to reduce the deficit
By GetItBuilt!
Sort the roads out first
By Anonymous
Why is it always Birkenhead getting the big money, and the upgrades ? Too much money to keep a lid on the shizzle?
By Barnacle Blinp
I don’t know why your picture features a tram.The useless council made such a mess of plans for the transport museum that the tram has long gone. If you really think the council can do anything to make the most of Birkenhead’s history to create a worthy tourist attraction you must be unhealthy optimistic.
By Sam Batey
Name the Ferry terminal after French novelist, Jules Verne. Laird’s of Birkenhead built the fictional Nautilus submarine. All around the world there are Verne connected statues attracting tourism and inward investment to places that had very minor parts to play in the famous French authors adventures. We built the Nautilus ! ! !
By Kenneth Lamb