The plans have been several years in the making
Buildings at the Seaview Road site being demolished in 2025. The site is now cleared(Image: Wirral Council)
Plans to transform a Merseyside town centre are set to move forward following a key update on how £12m will be spent. Plans being considered include a new community hub, new housing, money for local businesses, and improvements to Liscard’s high street.
At a Wirral Council economy, regeneration, and housing committee meeting on January 19, councillors are being asked to approve the next steps on the Liscard regeneration programme and authorise interim Chief Executive Matthew Bennett to move projects forward and deliver them.
In 2023, Wirral Council was given £10.7m from the UK Government to level up Liscard and the local authority later approved £1.2m of borrowing to meet a £12m budget. In December, a report had suggested that £1.25m could have been moved elsewhere but councillors later kept the funding for Liscard as a contingency.
While Labour councillor James Laing had pressed the council for action on the derelict Dominick House, a report to be put before councillors said the current funding did not include any plans for the building. However talks are ongoing about the site’s future and “officers are still exploring alternative options”.
The programme includes improvements to parts of Liscard Way, funding for shops and businesses in the area, new housing on the Seaview Road car park, and a potential new community hub.
How the area around the McDonalds in Liscard could look(Image: Wirral Council/Mott MacDonald)
New designs for Mother Redcap Place received positive feedback though there were concerns more measures were needed to tackle antisocial behaviour in the area. In October, a public spaces protection order was put in place and in December, a shop was served with a closure order.
Now the council looks set to move its designs forward as options are considered for the wider area around Liscard Way and people will be asked for further feedback.
The council is also expected to publish tender notices for a developer to take on the Seaview Road development in early 2026.
The Seaview Road site will now be developed for housing(Image: Wirral Council)
Shops could also soon be asked to bid for money to help improve their shop fronts using other grant funding. This is similar to a scheme around Market Street and Argyle Street in Birkenhead which people told the ECHO had lifted the mood in the area and had been a boost to local shops.
The report before councillors said: “Alongside the property improvement scheme, the council has identified an opportunity to utilise capital funding to deliver small-scale wider neighbourhood capital improvements. The council is intending to work with the Liscard Together Partnership on options for spend.”
People on Argyle Street have praised investment in shops in the area(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
One of the bigger projects in the regeneration programme is a potential new community hub. Options include supporting organisations already in the area or using the funding to take over and transform a building.
The report said £1m could be set aside for this but a challenge was the council did not own any available properties in the town centre. The council has been approached about a potentially suitable building but further work is needed.