Welcome To Wirral

Wirral Freeport

The Wirral Freeport (opened by HRH The Prince of Wales in December 1992) is the cornerstone of Wirral's plans for a Maritime Development zone as part of our successful City Challenge bid for central government funds. Additional EU development funds have been granted to the sum of £1m which Mersey Docks and Harbour Company plan to match in expanding the potential of the zone. 

The Wirral Freeport itself is a customs area where imported goods can remain with EU import duty, levies, quotas and UK import VAT suspended for an indefinite period. This can only encourage new trade into the area and extend the range of activities eg. storage through to processing.

Wirral Investment Network (WIN)

Wirral Investment Network is a partnership of local authority and private enterprise. There are now more than 50 members including all the major private and public sector organisations in the area. It aims to improve Wirral as a place to work, live and relax by linking key staff from public and private sector business in an action group to secure the commercial future of Wirral through the vigorous pursuit of investment and, in turn, jobs.

EUROWIRRAL - Putting Wirral on the map

In 1992 Wirral established a marketing strategy which reflected its commitment to the economic and cultural advantages which the European Union provides.

The aim of the strategy was to promote Wirral as a quality place to live, work and invest. It is supported by WIN who realised the need for a sustained marketing strategy to give the area the international identity needed to attract investment and new jobs into Wirral.

The European Commission also gave its support and helped finance the initiative which was launched by the EU Commissioner Bruce Millan on 17 March 1992. 

At the launch, held in Brussels, he described EuroWirral as "the most comprehensive" European marketing package assembled by any UK local authority. The objectives being: 

• to put Wirral firmly on the map
• to develop a network of links throughout Europe
• to help businesses recognise the opportunities the new Europe offers
• to ensure the people of Wirral understand the European ideal and the potential that the closer integration of Europe will provide in terms of cultures and customs

Since 1992, EuroWirral has encompassed a whole range of activities, from business seminars to over two hundred leisure and cultural events. The events have ranged from the return of the Tall Ships, exhibitions and international tennis tournaments to school projects and exchanges.

The EuroWirral initiative continued to be successful and, in 1996, Wirral opened its own Brussels based office.

Its achievements were recognised by the presentation of two auspicious honours, the European Diploma in 1993 and the prestigious Flag of Honour in 1994 by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

Future Direction

Wirral’s future direction has largely been defined by the work regeneration programmes which the borough has been successfully running for the last decade. Following the first major success in 1992 - CityLands - which began the process of turning around Birkenhead’s fortunes, Wirral Partnership was formed in 1994 to develop Wirral’s SRB bids. The Partnership has developed into the means for deciding on and implementing all Wirral’s strategic action to improve employment and encourage economic development. The Partnership currently comprises: Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Wirral Employment Service, Wirral Waterfront Initiative, Wirral Health Authority, Citizens Advice Bureau, Wirral CVS, Mersey Ferries, Birkenhead 6th Form College, Wirral Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Groundwork Wirral, Pathways, Wirral Metropolitan College, Merseyside Police, Pentra Services, Wirral Churches Together, Career Connections Ltd, Government Office for the Northwest, New Wallasey, Hamilton Quarter, Wirral Association for Disability, Greater Merseyside Learning Skills Council, Merseyside Fire Brigade, North West Development Agency.

Many of the projects supported by Wirral Partnership work to regenerate areas and create opportunities, including:

Hamilton Quarter

A seven year programme which started in April 1995 and ran until the end of March 2002. It was centred on historic Hamilton Square (the largest collection of Grade One listed buildings in the country) and its surrounding area. It spent an estimated £82 million revitalising the heart of Birkenhead through developing tourist attractions, supporting arts and culture, refurbishing historic buildings, improving the shopping and business area, improving traffic and environment, enhancing security including CCTV and Townsafe, and providing new housing, education and training schemes. £15million was from SRB, £7million from the Housing Corporation, £7million from Objective 1, £27million investment from the private sector and the remainder from a variety of other sources.

New Wallasey

A six year regeneration programme which began in Spring 1997 and will ran until March 2003. New Wallasey’s activity is split into five programmes: Community Initiatives (encouraging community-led regeneration); Learning for Life, (providing a well-motivated workforce with appropriate skills); revitalising and diversifing the dock areas; New Brighton (quality all-year-round leisure facilities to boost the local economy); and Business Development (supporting the creation and growth of businesses). The SRB funding of nearly £10million expected to attract £60million from other sources. Overall responsibility for the initiative lies with the New Wallasey Partnership Board, made up representatives from the public sector, businesses and community and voluntary groups. It expected that more than 1,700 new jobs and 183 new businesses would be created over the six years of New Wallasey.

Lairdside

The regeneration programme for parts of Tranmere, New Ferry, Rock Ferry and the Town Lane area in Bebington, (which are also all Pathways areas). It began in April 1996 and ended in March 2003. A total investment of £47.7million in initiatives which include: business support for companies in and around the Cammell Laird area; redevelopment and improvement of land on either side of the A41, New Chester Road, and the neglected waterfront sites in the Rock Park area; local transport improvements; Tranmere Urban Village; developing the Laird Foundation as a Centre of Training Excellence, offering training in the skills needed by local companies; The Laser Engineering Centre with the University of Liverpool provides a high-tech centre of excellence for both research and commercial use; Wirral Regional Environmental Network (WREN); developing a Marine Technology Park and establishing a Centre for Marine and Coastal Technology supported by Liverpool University. The ‘community end’ of Lairdside is managed by Lairdside Communities Trust. LCT is responsible for: environmental improvements, family support, training, education and enterprise, youth issues (including projects aimed at reducing youth crime) and quality of life including community safety, community arts and sports events, improvements to public transport and drugs prevention projects. Lairdside is funded by £15.1million SRB; £17.5millionother public sector funding incl Objective 1, Konver II and Regional Challenge, and £13.1million from the private sector.

New Opportunities on Wirral (NOW)

A six-year SRB programme approved in Spring 1998. NOW tackles social exclusion and disaffection in seven Pathways areas of Wirral - Bromborough, Mill Park, Eastham, Prenton Dell, Noctorum, Woodchurch, Beechwood/Ballantyne and North Moreton/Sandbrook - with a combined population of nearly 20,000 people. NOW focuses on three particular groups: 11-17 year-olds, unemployed people between the ages of 18 and 25 and long-term unemployed people over 25. The programme also covers people outside these three groups who are still at risk of exclusion. The NOW programme was drawn up in consultation with people from the targeted seven areas and has been designed to tackle some of the factors identified by those communities as preventing them from getting jobs. It aims to remove some of the local barriers to employment and reduce unemployment levels in the seven areas to the Wirral average. Schemes include developing SMART bus services to Pathways areas, developing Community Resource Centres, projects tackling disaffection and the involvement of Welfare to Work and ILM. The initiative is funded principally by SRB money, with individual schemes receiving funding from a mix of the council, ESF, ERDF, New Deal and the Lottery.

Wirral Waterfront

A seven-year SRB programme approved in June 2000 with an estimated total value of £144 million investment, aimed at building on the regeneration work along Wirral's side of the River Mersey when the existing programmes - such as Hamilton Quarter and Lairdside - come to an end. The money comprises a package of £20million (SRB6), plus the prospect of an additional £124million from other sources including the private sector and European Objective One cash. Wirral Waterfront will be directed by a new Partnership Board which will oversee a wide diversity of social, economic, and environmental action programmes.

Wirral Waterfront' initiative will run from late 2000 until March 2007. The target area for the new initiative runs from New Brighton in the north of the peninsula to Eastham in the south-east. This area is the defined 'Employment Corridor' for Wirral - a location which represents a major economic opportunity for Wirral as a whole, but also exhibits serious deprivation. The initiative area is identified as the location of greatest potential in terms of European funding. This 'corridor' incorporates the existing Hamilton Quarter, Lairdside and New Wallasey regeneration initiatives and will build on the work of these programmes as they end, between 2002 and 2003.