Government gives Wirral Waters the go-ahead

Dec 1 2010 by Liam Murphy, Heswall News

THE Government will not stand in the way of the ambitious £4.5bn redevelopment of Wirral’s docklands by property giant Peel. The decision by Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles not to call a public inquiry means Peel can now begin to fully market the scheme.

It has also been welcomed across the political spectrum in Wirral and by Peel’s development director Lindsey Ashworth who described it as “Christmas come early”.

Wirral Council leader Cllr Jeff Green said: "It's not every day that a leader of a council is given the go-ahead to see 26,000 jobs created.”

There could also be implications for the Liverpool Waters scheme.

City planners are currently considering Peel’s 150-acre Liverpool Waters project, which would see 9,000 apartments built in North Liverpool, as well as the 55-storey Shanghai Tower and other skyscrapers.

But on Monday the focus was on Wirral’s Birkenhead dockland. Peel already has outline planning permission for the project.

The East Float part of Wirral Waters received permission for 1.4m square metres of “mixed use floor space”, expected to be delivered over the next few decades.

As well as eventually supporting thousands of jobs, development is expected to provide 13,000 homes, leisure and culture facilities, and 4,000 construction jobs.

Mr Ashworth said: “Now we have everything to play for, coming out of a recession – what a position to be in.”

He said the decision showed the private sector, local and national government were working together and this would encourage potential Chinese investors.

Mr Ashworth also emphasised the importance of Eric Pickles’s decision for Liverpool Waters. He said: “This is a gateway scheme and you need two gateposts. We have one in Wirral now.”

He said when the Wirral Waters plans were first revealed in 2006 it was “probably a 100% certainty” it would face a public inquiry. Throughout Peel have said such a move could jeopardise the plans.

Mr Ashworth said the scheme, which currently has outline planning permission, is still some way off starting, and individual buildings need to be designed and approved by planners.

There is also further work to be done attracting investment to the scheme, and Mr Ashworth said he would be meeting with council leader Jeff Green later this week “to discuss how we can establish the relationships we have in China”.

The decision was warmly welcomed by leader of Wirral’s Labour group Steve Foulkes, who initially led the talks with Peel.