Council unveil new employment plans on former Wallasey gasholders

The Northside Neighbourhood is proposed on land that sits next to the motorway leading to the Wallasey Tunnel. This land includes the site of former Wallasey gasholders that were finally dismantled in 2015 and will form “a crucial part of the spine” of the council’s regeneration plans.

The land falls within the Liverpool City Region freeport area which is expected to bring in nearly £50m a year though others are sceptical about the project. In February 2023, Wirral Council bought land owned by the National Grid linked to the developments.

According to the council, “the development aims to create attractive, inclusive, safe, welcoming and sustainable workplaces that relate well to their surroundings. It also aims to support the relocation of industrial uses from other neighbourhoods across the urban area and support the wider regeneration of Birkenhead, by ensuring that businesses are, where possible, not displaced from Birkenhead.”

The key objectives are to open investment opportunities for high quality employment development, meet business needs, improve the character and the quality of the local area, and creating a less polluting development.

The development is proposed to be broken up into nine sites. The Flatiron Land between Limekiln Lane and Dock Road is proposed for a series of industrial units. Land behind Limekiln Lane next to Poulton Victoria Sports and Social Club could be developed into a Wirral Council depot.

The location of the former gasholders could become an open-air storage for vehicles, large equipment and containers with empty land off Old Gorsey Lane a potential extension of this.

Other sites in the development propose a mix of different sized business and industrial units. The Stone Marine business park would retain its warehouses but a number of business units are proposed on the eastern side.

Two final sites could be turned into a larger industrial unit while derelict land at the Limepits could become a depot facility for Merseytravel. A consultation is currently being carried out about the development which can be found here.