New Ferry to receive £10,000 funding to put together regeneration plan for high street

Oct 24 2012 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

NEW Ferry will receive £10,000 of funding to put together a regeneration plan for its high street.

The government announced on Tuesday that the area wassuccessful in its application to become a Town Team Partner.

Alongside the funding, specialist advice will be made available to help revitalise the centre of New Ferry.

Wirral South MP Alison McGovern, local councillors, Wirral Council, New Ferry Resident’s Group, local traders and Port Sunlight Village Trust came together to make the bid.

Ms McGovern said: “The recession is clearly damaging our shopping area.

“Our team of interested parties will now be using the small amount of funding to come up with a plan on how we can turn the fortunes of New Ferry town centre around.

“There are a high proportion of empty shops and a lot of them are in a poor state of repair.

“People’s shopping habits are changing with the rise of internet shopping and out-of-town shopping centres.

“But these challenges are not insurmountable and I believe that New Ferry can once again be the bustling heart of our community.”

Mark Craig, chairman of New Ferry Regeneration Action Group, said the decision meant New Ferry could be a step ahead when it came to making bids for further funding.

He said: “It will give us a detailed analysis of what is wrong with the district centre and what it will cost to put it right.

“This is the first step in the process.

“We will have a detailed action plan ready so that when future funding does become available we are ahead of everybody else – our scheme will be ready to go.”

Ms McGovern said the next step would be to identify possible sources of funding.

She added: “Unfortunately the council has had significant cuts in funding from the government so it will be necessary to seek out other funders.”

New Ferry Councillor Steve Niblock said: “While it is not a great amount of money, New Ferry shops have taken a bit of a hit.

“Anything that can assist is more than welcome.

“We have to look to the future to turn round a centre in decline into a vibrant local shopping centre.”