An announcement has been made for people booking weddings
One of the many grand staircases at Birkenhead Town Hall(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Wirral Council has announced when it will be closing one of its town halls until further notice for repairs as part of a cost-cutting drive for the financially struggling local authority.
The closure of Birkenhead Town Hall was one of the millions of pounds of savings unanimously approved in March as part of Wirral Council’s budget for day to day services from April. According to documents prepared for a Policy and Resources committee on February 19, closure will save £100,000 to help close a £34m budget gap.
The future of the building had been in doubt for a while after Wirral Council reviewed both of its town halls last year including considering the option of selling both Birkenhead and Wallasey. In November, the local authority started the process of moving services out of the building into Wallasey Town Hall.
On May 29, Wirral Council announced the registration service will now be based at Wallasey Town Hall from July 1 onwards. From this date, day to day operations will stop at Birkenhead and no bookings for weddings and other ceremonies will be taken.
The council said all existing appointments for births, death, marriage registration had gone ahead as arranged at Birkenhead up to May 29 at 4pm. From June 3, these services will be active over in Wallasey with all future wedding bookings to take place there.
A portrait of William Laird in Birkenhead Town Hall(Image: Liverpool Echo)
The council said the closure was so repairs could take place. According to a report presented to councillors last November, the town hall is expected to need over £9.5m of work to be done on the building over 15 years.
Wirral Council closed Wallasey Town Hall in 2023 but it reopened the following year after a council review are understood to have found there were safety issues with holding council committee meetings in Birkenhead. This review was prompted following protests over the war in Gaza.
The Grade II* listed building in Wallasey already has the council’s civic and elections service based there. A bookable one stop shop is available one day a week offering support to the public.
The old ballroom that doubles as a theatre(Image: Liverpool Echo)
When the council was considering closing the town hall, people told the ECHO they felt disappointed describing it as sad, short-sighted, and terrible amid a sense more and more things were moving outside of the Woodside area. One business said it was concerned that closure could see a drop in footfall because people would no longer be visiting the town hall.
In February, Alison Rubin said she would hate the building being closed, adding: “The town hall is a piece of our history and a piece of Hamilton Square. Architecturally it’s gorgeous and there’s nothing better than walking outside and seeing couples getting married and seeing that love.”
She said: “If Birkenhead wants to regenerate, why are you going to take away our beautiful town hall? Why are you doing away with it?
“If it’s money, dig deep and find some money. They can find that somewhere. If you want to make the Wirral a destination, we have Liverpool right there. We are one stop from James Street.”
Birkenhead Town Hall is a listed building(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Similarly Hazel Shimmin said: “It’s the main part of the square so if it gets shut, it will just die around here,” adding: “We are just getting less and less things in Birkenhead. It would be a backwards step for this area. I certainly have a lot of pride in it. It’s been part of Birkenhead for such a long time.”
Philip Barton, a heritage campaigner in the Hamilton Square Conservation Area, previously told the ECHO: “The loss of that building would be catastrophic for Birkonians. It’s a symbol of Birkenhead’s coming of age,” adding: “It’s still something that connects us with our history, our past generations, parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. It’s an important part of our identity.”