Work to Begin on Multi-Million Pound Wirral Waters Scheme
Progress on the flagship Wirral Waters development has stepped up a gear after approval for grant funding was given at a meeting of Wirral Council economy regeneration and housing committee. Insider Media reports that the £4m retail, leisure and events centre is a joint venture between Wirral Council and the Starship Group.
The ambitious Wirral Waters scheme aims to regenerate an area on the left bank of the River Mersey, to create what the developers describe as an ‘internationally recognisable destination.’ Ultimately, up to 13,000 new homes will be created, along with 20 million sq ft of mixed floor space and thousands of native trees planted along the coastline.
The current grant funding is for the Egerton village element of the scheme. This will be a mixed use amenity village on the East Float Docks, which is intended to be a local creative hub for Wirral, with studios and work and events spaces alongside housing for workers and students.
Simon Humphreys, director of Starship Regeneration, said: “Egerton Village will be a focal point at the heart of Wirral Waters providing valuable local amenities for this emerging neighbourhood.”
He added: “There will be a host of new cafés, restaurants, arts, and retail space to choose from and we look forward to developing an events programme for the courtyard in this stunning dockside location.”
Cllr Paul Stuart, leader of Wirral Council, added: “Egerton Village is another vital step in the continuing push to bring regeneration which will make a real difference to people’s lives.”
“It is gratifying to see this development moving forward, and shows how Wirral’s approach to bringing forward regeneration right across the Left Bank from Bromborough, through Birkenhead and Wirral Waters, Seacombe and Liscard and all the way to New Brighton, is paying dividends.”
Across the Mersey in Liverpool, there is further exciting news as a leading firm of architects has been appointed to lead the redesign of two prominent museums, the International Slavery Museum and the Maritime Museum. Insider Media reports that the overhaul will be supported by a £9.9m grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Laura Pye, director of National Museums Liverpool, said: “To be bringing two such visionary designers with international reputations to the project represents the bold ambition and thinking behind it. We are delighted they’re keen to embrace this as a co-production project which we feel will create something truly ground-breaking.”
Partner Kossy Nnachetta will lead the FCBStudios team, supported by Geoff Rich and Peter Clegg.
Nnachetta said: “FCBS are excited and humbled by the invitation to join the NML team and to lead the architectural transformation of these museums. We understand that there is huge responsibility to help create a platform to tell this story, long whispered, yet still awaiting the space to fully express itself; and all the potent, deep-seated emotions it can elicit.”
She added: “We hope to help create something bold and yet beautiful. The result of ‘many hands’ working together with the museums and communities in Liverpool.”
The International Slavery Museum opened in 2007, and is part of the National Museums Liverpool group, a collective of six museums and galleries across the city that was formed in 1986. 2007 was the bicentenary of the abolition of the British slave trade, so it is a particularly significant date.
The museum is located in the Albert Dock, which is historically significant as this area was once at the heart of Liverpool’s slave trade. The ships in the dry dock area were maintained and prepared to ship thousands of captive people across the Atlantic during the 19th century.
It is estimated that about 1.5 million enslaved people, mainly from Africa, were transported from Liverpool to the Caribbean, mainly to be used as enforced labour on plantations. The slaves would pick the raw materials to make valuable goods such as sugar, cotton, coffee, and tobacco.
Much of Liverpool’s wealth during this time was generated through the textile trade that was fuelled by slave labour.
The museum contains resources and artefacts that help visitors to understand the history and legacy of the slave trade, challenge misperceptions and prejudices, examine its impact on the BAME population, and to raise awareness of modern slavery.
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