Wirral seeks feedback on 3,500-home neighbourhood
Proposals for Scotts Quay include up to 300 houses and 3,200 apartments off Birkenhead Road, as well as 39 acres of green space and 140,000 sq ft of offices.
Wirral Council has launched a public consultation on its plans for the Birkenhead neighbourhood. The consultation will run until 15 September.
Proposals for up to 3,500 homes would provide a mix of three-bedroom townhouses and one- to three-bedroom apartments on the edge of the River Mersey. These properties would deliver affordable and retirement housing, as well as homes for young professionals.
Maximising on the development’s waterside location, the promenade would be enhanced to become a green river park, featuring places to sit, new planting, and retail offerings.
Elsewhere, green spaces would be delivered to provide a range of play areas, as well as more retail and leisure amenities, to support the creation of a 15-minute neighbourhood.
Plans for Scotts Quay also include better cycling and walking routes along Birkenhead Road to promote active travel in the area.
The council will work closely with other strategic partners and stakeholders such as Peel Ports and Homes England on the scheme.
Proposals form a critical part of the Birkenhead 2040 Framework, which sets out a 20-year plan for the town’s regeneration. Through this framework, Wirral Council hopes to deliver 21,000 homes and 10m sq ft of commercial space.
In January, the council launched a consultation on its proposals for the Dock Branch neighbourhood, which would sit on the former Dock Branch railway line.
Building on Green belt is not an option. There are enough empty offices where the land can be reused.
By Pam
Great location.
By Liverpolitis
Should go taller, Liverpool hates sky scrapers / high rises (40+ floors) and technically Liverpool only has 1 (West Tower), Wirral has always been in Liverpool’s shadow but Wirral would only need 5 or 6 nice sky scrapers (40+ floors) to have a better skyline than Liverpool! Wirral should take advantage of Liverpool Councils distain against tall buildings and every time LCC reject a planning application Wirral should approach the developer, “build it over here instead”
By Anonymous
Yet again Wirral are doing everything they can to justify numbers on housing supply which is about as well-balanced as Nigel Farage’s musings to ‘do something helpful’ for the people of the United Kingdom. Wirral’s Local Plan is almost 30 years out of date. Local politicians are doing everything to avoid greenbelt release and actually allow hard working families to live in the nice areas. Everyone without considerable resources must effectively live in Birkenhead, so that politicians can keep their posts. Well let’s see what the NIMBY’s are like when they realise there are no adult social care workers who can afford to live nearby to look after them in their old age, no extra care schemes to house them, so it’s straight into an ageing and enormously expensive care home. The local economy will eventually crash, as there are no workers available and no houses to restore the lifeblood into communities. Let’s hope that the next government have a housing minister with more integrity than Gove.
By Alastair Sheehan
What a good idea to build new homes But they will be out of reach of ordinary people on any benefits
By Anonymous
Looks good, river/dockside housing in a central location with restaurants, bars, local businesses with water access is perfect. This could really change peoples impressions of Birkenhead. Wirral Council should be bold push for more homes and include a few towers (say 30,45 and 65 storeys) to give real impact and vibrancy.
By GetItBuilt!
Think it’s a great plan as long as the housing is affordable & I don’t mean affordable for the rich.
By Anonymous
Birkenhead needs a younger and more aspirational section of population living in it’s centre in order to change it’s image. Let’s face it Wirral has lots of social housing and affordable private housing if you want to get on the property. This part of Wirral needs a thorough make-over, getting away from those tired, unpleasant, suburban type houses built just off Hamilton Square.
By Anonymous
Has there been any considerations regarding primary health care, schooling and remote policing such as CCTV and water safety needs.
By Gordon Simpson
It needs to be social housing. There isn’t enough on the wirral to meet the needs
By Kathy
Please STOP making wirral a concrete Jungle, people all over the UK praise wirral beauty and nature spots.. we are very well known all over! But its getting horrible..our nature is disappearing.. care about our beautiful wildlife and us and not your profit and bank accounts
By Anonymous
An excellent idea. Saves the greenbelt for everyone to enjoy whilst providing affordable homes with infrastructure.
By Anonymous
About time get started
By Anonymous
“Saves the greenbelt for everyone to enjoy”, what a load of tosh. The greenbelt isn’t a public park, the only way you get to enjoy the hectares and hectares of it is if there happens to be a public right of way.
Let’s have a sensible debate about land release around existing settlements in addition to brownfield regeneration of the dock areas.
By Mr N Imby
They need to provide affordable housing for couples or single occupants not just for families and those 55+ for a start
By Anonymous
Birkenhead really needs this and more
By Anonymous
Fully support Council.Very appealing development.
By Christopher Thomas and Jean Thomas
Redevelopment of the dock area is a great idea as is affordable housing. However, a significant proportion of this, if not all, should be social housing. Presumably part of our Borough will be sold off relatively cheaply to private developers, we may we provide infrastructure and shoulder that cost, then the developers make a swift profit? A strong contract is required to stop developers buying the land then reducing the proposed number of homes to be built to increase their profit and deliver less to the people. Hopefully, I read this wrong it’s one giant social housing development to deliver well maintained, affordable rental properties to Wirral.
By Jon Evans
I applaud this initiative as it purports to deal with the need for affordable housing by using brownfield territory.The reality is that building dwellings on Green Belt results in eye watering house prices, as the land is exceptionally expensive and the builders take the opportunity of enhancing their profit margins. But what does “affordable” really mean? Property people define it as being 80% of the average price of a dwelling in the locale, but no one is brave enough to put a number, in pounds, on what is “affordable”. The intent is good, but can they deliver?
By Richard Lewis