Birkenhead Waterfront & Surrounds – a new Waterfront for Wirral
Wirral Council commissioned the design team to develop designs for the Birkenhead Waterfront and Surrounds including community engagement. The design team included Mott MacDonald, Planit-IE and PLACED. The project includes several distinct projects funded through multiple mechanisms which have been brought together. The funding includes funds secured by Wirral Council and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund and Town Deal.
The project was split into three areas, Argyle Street (including Conway Street), Hamilton Square and Hamilton Square Station plaza, and the Woodside and Waterfront area.
What we did
There have been multiple phases within this project, in which we have done many pop up events at Future Yard in November 2022, as well as business and stakeholder workshops, walking tours led by Mott MacDonald and Planit-IE, and a temporary display at BirkenEd’s Place (our pilot community engagement hub) to display background information, site boundaries, site images and cross section images. Through these, we reached an approximate 217 people across different age ranges and stakeholders.
Further events and workshops with local schools and groups, as well as another temporary phase at BirkenEd’s Place, another 299 people were reached. We had a range of people come in to discuss the Waterfront, including workshops with Options for Supported Living and Wirral Mencap, St. Werburgh’s Primary School, Woodlands Primary School, Co-op Academy Bebington and chatting with parents at Brassey Gardens Children Centre.
Outcomes
The project has helped to refine street layout options by collecting feedback on various street layouts for Argyle Street, develop ideas and preferences for the future of Woodside and making the area more pedestrian friendly. We’ve been able to collect specific views from groups including primary aged children, teenage girls, parents of young children and people with learning disabilities.
