BACKERS of a housing scheme on Birkenhead’s former House of Fraser said there is “progress” despite silence over plans for the project.
The site of the former retail store on Grange Road is currently cleared following demolition that took place in 2024. When it bought the site, Wirral Council originally planned to build a brand new Birkenhead Market there alongside new homes.
Using the site for the new market development was controversially scrapped in 2023 with the local authority now moving the market into the former Argos on Princes Pavements. Since then, no detailed plans has been brought forward, though an update in November 2024 suggested a new residential scheme surrounding a courtyard could be coming down the line.
The last timeline update for the project in July 2024 suggested a planning application would be submitted in November 2024 followed by expected approval in January 2025. This timeline said construction work was also due to start the following July.
The council originally planned to cover the costs through borrowing when it bought the site but later used £2.1m of development funding from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. The funding was conditional on the delivery of at least 84 new homes with a start date for construction in March 2025.
As far back as March 2023, warnings were given to councillors the scheme needed to move forward or the local authority could face losing the funding. Now less than two months before the March 2025 deadline, no planning application has been submitted.
Asked whether it would look to claw back the funding, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority did not say when it would review the situation. A spokesperson said: “The Combined Authority will shortly have allocated its entire Brownfield Land Fund – almost £60m – and will exceed the minimum house building target, set by central Government, of 3,970 homes.
“Whilst work on the House of Fraser site will not start by March 2025, funding for the development is still in place and will bring forward housing for the area at the appropriate time. We continue to work with Wirral Council to find a solution that will deliver much needed housing on the site.”
A spokesperson for Wirral Council and the Wirral Growth Company, the local authority’s joint venture firm with developer Muse, said: “The design continues to progress, with an expectation that a planning application will be submitted over the coming months.
“Delivering homes that are fit for the future requires careful thought and planning, with all parties – Wirral Growth Company, Liverpool City Region, and Homes England – working in partnership to provide the people-focused regeneration we’re committed to achieving.”