A planned development of 335 homes near the River Mersey in Birkenhead has stalled.
A project to deliver the homes on what is currently the Land Registry building at Rosebrae Court in Birkenhead is not moving forward due to ongoing negotiations over the site. This is according to a Liverpool City Region Combined Authority report.
The plans are a key part in Wirral Council’s regeneration of the Woodside area and the Birkenhead waterfront as well as the local authority’s wider plans to revive the left bank of the River Mersey.
£5.21m had been set aside for the project but this was removed from the list of approved projects for brownfield development funding due to the delay. Building works for the scheme will need to start by March 2025 in order for the funding to be granted.
However, Wirral Council said there were alternative sites the authority could make available to use this funding if needed.
Draft plans for the Birkenhead Waterfront in 2022 said the development would unlock “a longstanding undeveloped and underutilised site in a prime location along the waterfront, improving connections to and along the water’s edge, with significant scale and potential to meet housing need in the area.”
The council was hoping to build a “modern, sustainable residential-mixed community” creating “a new home on the waterfront, offering family homes in an innovative, appropriately dense setting.”
The documents from 2022 also said the plans were “considered to be deliverable” with new greenspaces along the river’s edge and public spaces.
A Wirral Council spokesperson said, “The report refers to the Brownfield Land Fund as there was an allocation of funding for the Rosebrae Court site. Discussions are ongoing with the landowner and an update will be provided in due course.
“If necessary, there are alternative sites the authority can make available as part of a pipeline of locations which could use this funding within the timescales and the council is now in discussion with the Combined Authority over this.”
The Government Property Agency own the site. A Government spokesperson said, “We are committed to ensuring the government estate is delivering the best possible value for taxpayers.
“We continue to work with Wirral Council on this matter.”
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