A new market will be one of the key improvements to bring more people into the town centre and help underpin major plans being put forward for Birkenhead.
A masterplan now published outlines how the St Werburgh’s area can be developed to help Birkenhead town centre flourish.
St Werburgh’s Masterplan covers the location around the St Werburgh’s and St Laurence Catholic Church and the adjacent square as well as the former House of Fraser site and Princes Pavement plus parts of Argyle Street extending as far as Clifton Crescent.
The masterplan is based on feedback from the public from an earlier consultation and now those ideas have been used to develop proposals for the area, with a key element putting the new Birkenhead Market building at the heart of the town centre.
Supporting this is the nearby development of the high-quality offices which, as well as providing a centralised home for council staff, will also create modern office space to attract businesses and organisations and bring significant numbers of potential new customers into the town centre.
The masterplan also shows how removal of the flyovers on Borough Road leading into the Queensway Tunnel will help reconnect the centre of the town to the proposed urban village development at Hind Street where hundreds of new homes are proposed.
Now the public are being asked to give their views and contributions on the proposals in the St Werburgh’s Masterplan.
Chair of Wirral Council’s Economy, Regeneration and Housing Committee, Cllr Tony Jones, said, “The St Werburgh’s area is a key part of the jigsaw that will help knit Birkenhead’s regeneration together and we are keen to have as many people as possible tell us their views on the ideas being put forward at this crucial stage of the process.
“The new market and the removal of the flyovers will be a huge leap forward for the town centre. It is part of our plan to bring people back into central Birkenhead and make it once again an attractive place to work, visit, shop and spend leisure time, while also being an opportunity here to deliver more much needed homes too.”
Other key objectives of the St Werburgh’s Masterplan include improved connections from the town centre to and from adjoining areas in particular Argyle Street, Hamilton Square, Dock Branch Park, the Priory and waterfront areas as well as the Hind Street Urban Garden Village.
The removal of the flyovers will also enable the space outside of Central Station to be better used. Today it is a complicated road network but once the flyovers have been removed it will allow for a much smaller junction outside of Central Station. It will also open up a generous space in front of the King Edward VII memorial (on the current roundabout) to form the gateway into the town centre from both the east of Birkenhead and for visitors from Central Station.
The St Werburgh’s Masterplan is one of a number of masterplans being prepared to support Wirral’s Local Plan, and each will create new residential and mixed-use neighbourhoods to repopulate Birkenhead and deliver the housing growth set out in the local plan.
The online consultation will continue until 15 October. To find out more, to view the masterplan and other documents, and to take part in the consultation see haveyoursay.wirral.gov.uk 
It is also possible to visit BirkenED’s Place, 8-10 Borough Rd Pavement, Grange Precinct, Birkenhead Ch41 2ZZ where the engagement is being led by independent local social enterprise PLACED. Find out opening times and more info about what’s on at BirkenEd’s Place at birkeneds.place
Visit this link to view the St Werburgh’s Quarter Masterplan
Lead image: Aerial view looking over Conway Street
Images: Wirral Council, BDP
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