The multi-million pound project could transform the waterfront site
Wirral Council has thrown its support behind a multi-million pound bid to transform a waterfront into a new employment centre.
The business case for a new employment park close to the council’s Bidston Recycling Centre on Wallasey Bridge Road has moved a step closer after members of the authority’s economy and regeneration committee agreed to support it in principle. It is hoped the £8m investment would help unlock a key Wirral Waters project.
The project called MEA Park West would help see the creation of 170,000 of new industrial floor space in the future and the money would prepare the land for development. Peel claims this £8m – which would be awarded by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority – would lead to £23m of private sector funding as well as the creation of 213 new jobs from businesses moving in.
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This would contribute to growth set out in the local authority’s draft Local Plan which promised more than 1,000 jobs by 2037. The money was previously earmarked for the creation of a maritime research centre off Tower Road but this was scrapped earlier this year by the council.
The site is described as “a significant, largely vacant and derelict brownfield site located on the corner of Wallasey Bridge Road and Beaufort Road” but could become “a new waterside manufacturing, logistics, research and development and assembly campus.” It is also close to Birkenhead North station.
Wirral Council said the site hasn’t been brought forward for development “due to a significant viability gap needing to be addressed.” The money would upgrade the former Mobil building to provide a prototype, training, and testing centre, prepare land for development, install utilities, construct new estate and access roads, an electricity substation and other improvements to the area.
The money needs to be spent by March 2025 but Peel Waters have told the council work could start in January subject to funding being approved. The bid was mentioned in a September council report which said the MEA Park project as originally planned was “unachievable” with one project awarded £1.7m dropped.
While the council’s support for the investment was approved unanimously, Cllr Jo Bird raised concerns about the fact business rates generated in the Freeport cannot be used by the council outside the area describing it as “quite problematic.” Council officers said this ringfencing had previously been approved by councillors for investment in the area.
However Cllr Angela Davies said it was the sort of thing that needed to happen on the Wirral pointing to the new jobs expected to be created, adding: “That is for future generations. The fact it would favour local supply chains.” Officers said a key focus of the freeport zone was not displacing existing jobs and some businesses Peel was talking to were from outside the area.