Wirral Council seeks developers to ‘kick-start’ a renaissance of a key part of its waterfront and is keen to push multi-million pound plans for new homes and commercial space. Tony McDonough reports
Wirral Council is pushing forward with plans for the regeneration of the waterfront Seacombe area of the borough.
It is looking for developers to come forward to build new homes, and new commercial space, on two plots totalling 1.16 acres that were previously occupied by council offices.
Both the North and South Annexes, office buildings either side of Wallasey town hall, were demolished in early 2024 to make way for new housing. They had been previously used by the local authority for council staff but had not been occupied since 2020.
These sites are also central to the proposals outlined in the Wallasey Town Hall Quarter Masterplan. The North Annexe site is approximately 0.578 acres and the South Annexe Site approximately 0.586 acres. Wirral Council owns the freehold of both.
Director of regeneration and place, Marcus Shaw, said: “These sites are among the prime locations on this side of the borough, close to the waterfront and promenade, and at the heart of the masterplan for the location surrounding the town hall.
“I’m not surprised we are seeing early interest in them. The demolition of the annexes was, I have no doubt, welcomed by everyone in the area and this is now a fantastic opportunity to bring much needed high quality and affordable housing here.
“This will be a key element in our wider regeneration ambitions for the Seacombe corridor and I now want to see this kick start a renaissance for Seacombe.”
A report approved by Wirral Council’s Policy and Resources Committee in March had declared the annexe sites surplus to requirements.
Councillors agreed to start a procurement process to secure a development partner for their re-development and to appoint the preferred tenderer following the procurement process.
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The council’s Local Plan identified Seacombe as a priority area for regeneration and the Wallasey Town Hall Quarter masterplan, adopted at the end of 2024 following consultation, is intended to help guide the future development of the area.
Masterplans provide detailed guidance for a particular area, for example setting out things like building heights and the types of materials to be used in new developments, and are designed to be adopted as formal planning documents.
The Wallasey Town Hall Quarter Masterplan aims to make possible a diverse range of residential developments as well as opportunities for further commercial and retail premises to be developed in the area, with the potential for new jobs and business.
The redevelopment of the sites is being supported by £2.3m to deliver new homes from the Government, through the Brownfield Land Release Fund programme.
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