Town Deal for Birkenhead

A Town Deal for Birkenhead

Birkenhead is among 101 towns which were invited to bid for up to £25 million to transform neighbourhoods and communities in their area.

The fund is part of the Government’s £3.6 billion Towns Fund programme aimed at towns with a proud industrial heritage, but that have not always typically benefitted from economic growth like more prosperous areas.

Wirral Council submitted its Town Investment Plan to the Government, setting out its proposals to secure Town Deal funding, on 29 January 2021.

Following a review of the Plan, on 15 July 2021 the Government offered to enter into a Town Deal agreement with Birkenhead, which will see up to £25m invested into the area, subjected to further information being provided and approval of the business cases for the individual projects.

Following this offer, full ‘Treasury compliant’ business cases for each the projects were completed. The business cases have been approved by both the Council as accountable body and DLUHC as funder. Project delivery will commence in 2022 and must be completed by the close of the Town Deal programme in March 2026.

Town Investment Plan

The Town Investment Plan is the main document which was submitted to the government in support of our Town Deal funding bid. It proposes capital projects which would benefit from the funding and address a number of needs and opportunities within Birkenhead.

The Investment Plan details Birkenhead’s history, its current position and explains how a Town Deal agreement would help us achieve our vision for the town, which is underpinned by the Birkenhead 2040 Framework and supported by other successful funding bids such as Future High Streets Fund. It also outlines the extensive engagement that was undertaken to develop the final Town Investment Plan.

The projects that will be delivered as part of the Town Deal programme are: 

• Transport Shed will create a new transport-based heritage visitor attraction for Merseyside
• The Waterfront Animation and Connectivity Project will focus investment on our waterfront leisure assets - Eureka! Science + Discovery, Woodside Ferry Village and Birkenhead Priory, as well as public realm improvements in the Hamilton Square area, to provide a significantly enhanced visitor experience
• Education Engagement Project will provide investment and improvements to seven existing buildings to create a new hub and spoke network of service delivery bringing together education, advice, guidance, and specialist services. The facilities will each house different services targeting vocational skill pathways aimed at vulnerable groups. Wirral Metropolitan College will be the lead delivery partner
• Wirral Chamber of Commerce will re-purpose part of Egerton House to make it suitable for the incubation and growth of small and medium businesses in the Business, Financial and Professional Services sector, and the growing Digital sector in Birkenhead
• The new Wellbeing and Opportunity Centre called Joy will provide a one-site hub for all services provided by award winning charity Open Door, alongside a range of other health and wellbeing services. The hub will serve as a new national Centre of Excellence in how arts and culture can be used to reimagine how mental health is supported and understood
• Start-Yard will form a creative biosphere in the centre of Birkenhead’s Cammell Laird waterfront area, and next to Birkenhead Priory. It will provide a modern solution for people in the formative stages of their business development. Start-Yard reuses a former industrial garage unit and is owned by Microzine Creative
• Future Yard Music Skills Venue will deliver on the second and third phase of their project creating an additional 6,800 sq. ft of music sector specific project spaces and skills development infrastructure. The facility is run by Future Yard CIC, a non-profit constituted to utilise music for the social, cultural and economic development of Birkenhead
• The Argyle Street Creative Hub will support the creative and cultural sector in Birkenhead. The project will involve the acquisition and redevelopment of a vacant property to create a new and improved space for ‘makers’ including creative, cultural and community space, operated by Make CIC. Make CIC is a social enterprise founded in 2012. The organisation’s vision is “to see people turn their passions into prosperity”
• Sustainability Central will provide a prominent focal point to co-ordinate activities for the low carbon sector in Birkenhead. Town Deal funding will be combined with private sector funding to refurbish, repurpose and retrofit an existing building and surrounding outdoor space, within the Wirral Waters Enterprise Zone. The new space will host activities, coordinate teaching and skills development and encourage collaboration between our sustainability partners

The PDF file below may not be suitable to view for people with disabilities, users of assistive technology or mobile phone devices.

• Read the Town Investment Plan in full (PDF, 8MB)

The Town Deal Board

The Town Deal for Birkenhead is overseen by a locally led board of politicians and representatives from business, education, community and voluntary sectors. You can find out more about the Board below. The Town Deal Board is responsible for agreeing a vision for Birkenhead and developing a plan for how the Town Deal funding might be spent.

It is a requirement of the funding that a Town Deal Board be established. The role of the Board is to identify an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable vision for the town centre, and then develop a clear programme of interventions that will help to achieve the vision. The Board identified a number of projects which became part of the evidenced-based Town Investment Plan.

In developing its proposals, the Board consulted with other stakeholders and the local community. Residents, businesses, local organisations and visitors were invited to share their views on the future of Birkenhead across six thematic areas. The results of the consultation were used to shape the Town Investment Plan.

Now that the Town Investment Plan and its projects have been approved, the Town Deal Board is responsible for overseeing delivery of the Town Deal programme and overseeing compliance with the Heads of Terms Agreement with government.

The Board is not a legal entity, its role is advisory to Wirral Council as the accountable body for the Town Deal. You can read the Terms of Reference for the Board.

View Members of the Birkenhead Town Deal Board

Residents, businesses, local organisations and visitors were invited to share their views on the future of Birkenhead across six thematic areas. The results of the consultation were used to shape the Town Investment Plan which was submitted in January 2021 and successfully secured £25m.

Find out more about Town Deal

Read more information about the Government’s Town Deal programme

More information about the Birkenhead 2040 Framework

View Town Deal Board meeting notes

Members of the Birkenhead Town Deal Board