The plans were announced in the hopes of bringing crowds of tourists to the area
The new attraction would be visible to tourists coming into Liverpool on cruise ships(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
A major new landmark could be built overlooking the Mersey that would be big enough anyone visiting Liverpool would be able to see it.
It’s been announced Wirral Council is planning to build a Viking warship attraction at the Tower Grounds in New Brighton. The aim is to create an attraction everyone can see coming into the Mersey Estuary including tourists.
The plans were revealed by outgoing Wirral civic mayor Cherry Povall as she handed over the responsibilities of the role to Cllr Brian Kenny at an annual general meeting on May 14. The councillor appointed as mayor steps back from politics within the council for a year and is a ceremonial role.
Cllr Povall said it had been a huge privilege to be in the role describing the Wirral as one of the most beautiful areas of the country but also its best kept secret. She said promoting tourism had been a key focus over the last year for an area she said had much to offer.
As she announced plans for the new Viking warship, she told those gathered at Wallasey Town Hall “our small businesses need some of the money they are spending in Liverpool.” The aim is to create an attraction that will bring crowds of tourists over from Liverpool and will be 30 metres long and 20 metres high lit up at night.
Afterwards, she told the ECHO the idea came from a member of the public and the Wirral was the only borough that didn’t have a public piece of art. After speaking to more people about what represented Wirral, she said the most popular thing people suggested was the Vikings.
Vikings first arrived in Wirral in 902AD and created a number of settlements in the area with town names like Thingwall, Tranmere, West Kirby, and Meols originally having Viking origins. The Wirral is also thought to be the possible location for the famous Battle of Brunanburh in 937AD.
Cllr Povall said: “We want it to be a major tourist catalyst to the tourism offer on Wirral becuase we’ve got lots of villages. All these people arrive in Liverpool and never come anywhere near Wirral.
“When the cruise liners arrive, they get on a coach, stop at Port Sunlight and go to Chester. They don’t go anywhere else on Wirral.”
She said it would be something anyone would be able to see coming into Liverpool but explained the plans were in a chicken and egg situation. She said the council will need to apply for planning permission before applying for the Heritage Lottery funding necessary but plans were moving forward.
At the Annual General Meeting on May 14, Cllr Brian Kenny was unanimously appointed as the new Mayor. First elected in Birkenhead and Tranmere in 2006, he was later re-elected in Bidston and St James ward in 2015 after losing a seat in his previous ward the year before.
Born in Seacombe, he first started working in the Post Office before becoming a trade union officer. An Evertonian from a young age, he will be supporting Wirral Wise Guys and the Holistic Cancer Centre as his two charities over the next year.
In his acceptance speech, he said Wirral was a fantastic place to live, work and visit and wanted to support as many people as possible over the next year. He told the ECHO: “What I hope to do is promote all the best parts of the Wirral and it’s not just physical places, it’s the people as well. There’s some fantastic organisations, some fantastic people in Wirral who do a brilliant job.
“I want to put a smile on as many people’s faces as possible. There are many people on the Wirral who for all sorts of reasons find life very challenging so we want to try and improve their lives, get people smiling, and feeling positive about themselves and where they live.”
After a tough year for the council and major changes in recent weeks with new Labour leadership and a new political group, Cllr Kenny will oversee full council meetings for the next year where all councillors debate various issues and give final approval to any plans. The council will elect its next leader on May 21.
Cllr Kenny said: “I’m hoping now the council can move forward in a positive way. There’s always going to be issues with any council.
“Parties have got to work together. That’s important. We need to work together and we need to do that in the interests of all residents. The last thing we need is parties fighting either amongst themselves or against each other.
“What I want to see over the next 12 months is the council moving forward together in a positive way.”