Wirral pulls out of £25m Maritime Knowledge Hub

Tight finances have forced the council to discontinue the venture with Peel Waters, but senior officers say the door is not completely closed.

Last year the council approved plans to bring the iconic grade-two listed hydraulic generation station set within Wirral Waters back to life as a research and education facility.

But earlier this year issues regarding funding for the £25m project came to a head leading to a recommendation from Wirral Council officers to pull the plug at the authority’s economy, regeneration, and housing committee meeting this week.

While grant funding from the £8m Freeport Seed Fund and £1.7m from the Wirral Waters Investment Fund, subject to Liverpool City Region Combined Authority approval, could have been made available, the rest of the money required would have been obtained from private finance.

Based on this information and the structure of the proposal, officers explained the council would be exposed to too much financial risk with the responsibility of operating of the asset over a proposed 50-year lease.

Councillors were told the potential toll on the authority’s finances could not be justified when weighed against the likely benefits but hoped a viable scheme could be brought forward in the future.

Committee members voted to follow the recommendations and drop the scheme, but there is a loose agreement that the door is not closed on the project completely and the authority will continue working with Peel.

Speaking at the meeting, Wirral’s head of regeneration, Marcus Shaw, said: “We’d need to work with the landowner to understand the opportunity that’s available.

“From an economic perspective, we have critical financial challenges at the moment not just in the Wirral but in terms of the built environment.

“We need to look at this in the spirit of the economy, the proposals, and the viability.

“As and when we develop these business proposals we will ensure they are sustainable to protect the council’s financial position.”

The vacant building sits within the Four Bridges quarter of the East Float development zone within Wirral Waters.

Ellis Williams Architects had drawn up the plans for the station’s conversion into the Maritime Knowledge Hub, which included a four-storey extension.

It would have provided 45,000 sq ft of office and research space, as well as 58,000 sq ft to be used for teaching.

If plans had been brought to fruition the former engine house would have been converted into a café, and the former accumulator tower into an exhibition area.

The knowledge hub plan formed part of the wider £4.5bn regeneration project to transform 500 acres of former docklands, acquired by Peel L&P in 2005 when it bought Mersey Docks and Harbour Company.

Proposals for the hub were first unveiled in 2014 with plans lodged in 2022.

As well as Ellis Williams Architects, the project team included Bcal, Curtins, Eden, and Mel Morris Conservation.

To view the plans, search for application reference number APP/22/00937 on Wirral Council’s planning portal.