The new council leader Paula Basnett, who called for an investigation, said the early results are shocking
Roadworks on Conway Street earlier this year. The scheme is behind schedule(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
The “shocking” early results of an independent investigation into regeneration works in Birkenhead have been revealed as costs have doubled. Wirral’s new council leader Cllr Paula Basnett said the situation was completely unacceptable, adding the council “will take stock and get a proper grip of what is going on and establish where we can go from here”.
Regeneration works across Birkenhead are currently progressing on the main high street on Grange Road, Charing Cross, Conway Street, and Europa Boulevard. However a recent report suggested the scheme could be more than six months behind schedule and the council has now confirmed more than half of the scheme still needs to be finished.
New paving, street furniture, transport routes, and other major changes are being introduced with the hopes the new look will help contribute to the regeneration of the struggling town centre and lead to more people shopping there. However the works carried out to do this have led to traffic delays and businesses have reported a drop in footfall as a result.
The cost of the scheme is now estimated to be £24m which includes an anticipated £3m in management fees. The project initially started with a budget of £11.9m.
This massive overspend has been revealed after the borough’s Liberal Democrats called on the local authority to give clear answers about what is going on. Cllr Stuart Kelly, who sits on the council’s audit committee which scrutinises the local authority, said the council needed “to get everything out into the open as soon as possible.”
When Cllr Basnett was elected in May, she called for a review of the council’s regeneration projects as she argued too many schemes remained stuck. She said this would “provide certainty, set realistic timelines, and ensure local residents receive the benefits” promising “no more delays and no more excuses”.
Cllr Basnett said the review’s findings were “completely unacceptable.”(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
Cllr Basnett told the ECHO: “It was clear from what businesses and residents were saying that the works [in Birkenhead] needed to be urgently reviewed. The early results are shocking, with indications that the project is going to take even longer than we were told, and costs spiralling.
“This is completely unacceptable, and further work will be undertaken to consider the information revealed by the initial audit findings. As a Council we will take stock and get a proper grip of what is going on and establish where we can go from here.
“Strong leadership demands that difficult decisions are faced up to; being Leader of the Council means working with all parties and partners to navigate this authority through what will be a tough period.
“There will be no excuses – we will be straight with the people of Wirral and will turn this situation around to begin ensuring this Council works for residents, businesses and everyone with a stake in this borough’s future.”
Liberal Democrat Cllr Stuart Kelly told the ECHO: “It’s been clear to those of us observing from outside the loop that this scheme has been off track for a while with scant evidence of works progressing and road closures with nothing being done, and only recently it was revealed timescales and I assume budgets are slipping.”
The council said a report will be coming to the local authority’s Policy and Resources committee on July 23 outlining the situation faced by the regeneration scheme. This report is understood to put delays down to design information being late, unexpected utilities problems, as well as issues around the depth of construction.
Back in March when councillors were being asked to pull funding from a number of regeneration projects, a report suggested there was a £5m gap between the town centre project budget in March 2024 and the original budget of £11.9m.
The March 2025 report said £4m was pulled from plans for a new Birkenhead Market and redirected towards the town centre works. An extra £750,000 was later given to the town centre project, which the council previously said was due to “unexpected ground conditions”.
That report said concrete slabs were missing where expected and utilities were “closer to the surface than anticipated.” Other costs were linked to an increase in the National Minimum Wage.
Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Phil Gilchrist said: “Key parts of the jigsaw are now in place, it is vital that the momentum picks up and is not lost,” adding: “I do not want time wasted when there is a job to be done.
“Senior members are aware of various things being put in place but I am anxious we are getting on with sorting out the town in the way we hope.”
Pointing to the millions the council has received in government grants, he said the council can’t miss out on funding, adding: “If we can make good use of it, this is our last chance where people will have some faith that we can do something in Birkenhead.”