the ECHO:<\/a> \u201cWoodside is an important cultural and economic asset for Wirral, and projects like this have real potential to strengthen the area\u2019s offer for businesses, visitors, and the local community. We remain committed to supporting efforts that help unlock that potential.\u201d<\/p>\nThe officer report said: \u201cAlongside creating spaces for the local community and events, the first floor of the building will host an entrepreneurship centre, offering 12 small business units, co-working spaces, and networking facilities to support young and growing enterprises.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe scheme requires \u00a33.165m, fully funded through this request. Costs cover demolition, structural alterations, mechanical and electrical works, fit-out, professional fees, and contingencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWider benefits encompass cultural enrichment, skills development, local resilience, and environmental sustainability. Additional evidence is required before this can be proposed to the committee.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the meeting, councillors talked about the need to invest in Woodside as an attraction to compete with Liverpool. Cllr George Davies said it was a \u201cno brainer\u201d to take advantage of thousands of Everton fans travelling from the Wirral.<\/p>\n
Cllr Andrew Gardner agreed it could be an incredible opportunity but feared there could be an accident at some point as \u201cit is chaos\u201d, adding: \u201cYou just look at it. It\u2019s an open goal [\u2026] It\u2019s there to be taken.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would drive all the footfall Woodside would need on a regular basis and with other events there, that\u2019s almost going to be a weekly occurrence and that then becomes game changing for Woodside.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1_Birkenhead-regeneration-featurePic-Andrew-Teebay.jpg\")
The old ferry pontoon and passenger bridges (pictured here) have been taken away and will be replaced(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n
The latest decision comes as the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority begins installing the new ferry terminal pontoon in Birkenhead. A new passenger bridge will be installed this week ahead of further works in the new year.<\/p>\n
The use of \u00a31.2m of borrowing for Liscard was another key issue. Council officers had recommended the budget for Liscard\u2019s regeneration was reduced from \u00a312m to \u00a310.78m and the leftover funds released to be used elsewhere.<\/p>\n
However Labour councillors moved a change, later supported by all parties. That meant this funding would be kept as a contingency back up for Liscard. At the beginning of the meeting, Cllr James Laing had urged the committee to keep the \u00a31.2m for use in Liscard.<\/p>\n
He said the council officer suggestion has \u201ccaused great concern and confusion\u201d in the town, later asking for an update on the future of Dominick House, a derelict building he said was the number one issue facing the community.<\/p>\n
Councillors also approved a new strategy to tackle homelessness over the next five years. In response to a question, officers said the council was expecting to spend \u00a34.75m this year on temporary accommodation as demand continues to rise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fears were raised an accident is waiting to happen but a solution was put forwardThe Mersey Ferry could…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":637024,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,393,11817,1467,4884,50794,179,92711,16,15,8881,9313],"class_list":{"0":"post-637023","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-everton","11":"tag-everton-fc","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-hill-dickinson-stadium","14":"tag-liverpool","15":"tag-mersey-ferries","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-wirral","19":"tag-wirral-council"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115732029568003963","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=637023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/637024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=637023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=637023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=637023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_Still-morning-on-the-River-Mersey-Photo-by-Colin-Lane.jpg\")
The Mersey Ferry could be a solution to transport issues in Liverpool, councillors said(Image: Colin Lane\/Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n![\"One](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_Everton-FCs-Hill-Dickinson-StadiumPic-Andrew-Teebay.jpg\")
One councillor said it was ‘chaos’ leaving the Hill Dickinson Stadium(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n