Wirral rescinds Persimmon land deal

The nearly four-acre site off Ditton Lane will stay in council ownership, with the local authority exploring options on preserving it as a wetland habitat.

Wirral Council voted Monday to revoke the sale of the land in Moreton to Persimmon Homes, which had hoped to build 228 homes on the site and a neighbouring 13-acre plot owned by Vyner Estate.

The deal had been agreed last month, around three years after the council had decided to market the land. When the site had been approved for disposal in 2023, it had been given an estimated market value of £1m.

However, in January 2026, Friends of Pasture Marsh had submitted a letter in opposition of the deal, citing the land’s value as a biodiverse habitat and flood water storage site. They had also referenced the presence of protected trees. The council had initially been unable to find the tree protection orders, but did locate them prior to the meeting on Monday.

The site was also included in the as-yet-unapproved Liverpool City Region Nature Recovery Strategy, which notes its potential as a wetland habitat.

Now that the land deal is off the table, Wirral Council chief executive Matthew Bennett will craft a report looking at what can be done to improve the land for habitat, including potentially turning it into a nature reserve or even a biodiversity land bank.

Persimmon declined to comment for this story.