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BIRKENHEAD’ S NEW GARDEN VILLAGE MOVES FORWARD
FIRST RESIDENTS MOVE INTO NEW FERRY DEVELOPMENT
Development of a former gasworks to provide hundreds of new homes close to Birkenhead town centre has taken a significant step forward.
Wirral Council and developers ION Property Developments Ltd have now signed a Master Development Agreement( MDA) for the new urban village at Hind Street. The MDA is a comprehensive legal document that outlines the overall framework for pushing ahead with the development, which will be delivered through several phases over the next 10-15 years. The project is a key part of Wirral’ s ambitious, brownfield-first regeneration programme, which is designed to deliver growth through innovative development and partnerships at sites across the borough.
Homes England, the government’ s housing and regeneration agency, has agreed a £ 29.8 million investment in the project, with £ 22.4 million from the LCRCA bringing the investment to just over £ 52 million to fund the vital infrastructure works needed to unlock the site and deliver the first 633 homes. Work has already begun on the site, where contractor John Sisk & Son were appointed to undertake surveys and design work as well as vegetation clearance, making way for the remediation and infrastructure works to start later in the year. These initial preparatory works and the main contract to address the remediation and provide the new infrastructure are expected to take around two years, ahead of construction on the first new homes getting underway. The Hind Street project is being delivered by Wirral Council in partnership with developers ION Property Developments Ltd, with ION initially responsible for managing the delivery of the remediation and infrastructure works on the Council’ s behalf. Legal advice from Trowers & Hamlins and strategic input from CBRE and Radics Consulting has now helped move the project on a stage.
Following this, ION will lead on delivering the housing, with 633 new homes being delivered on the remediated site over the next few years. A further update on the final Business Plan, which is a requirement of the Master Development Agreement( MDA), will be brought to a future Committee meeting before the housing delivery phase begins. Once the initial phase has been delivered, the project will then focus on the northern part of the site to deliver further housing. Hind Street Urban Village project will see the development of around 1,600 new homes in total over the next 10 to 15 years.
A community celebration took place as the first people moved into their new homes on Bebington Road as part of the New Ferry regeneration programme.
Developed by the council’ s appointed partner The Regenda Group, and built by M & Y Maintenance and Construction, Phase 1 of the development includes 34 one and two bedroom apartments, built across two sites on Bebington Road and Boundary Road.
The new homes on Bebington Road – which residents started moving into last week – are for affordable rent with Regenda Homes, part of The Regenda Group, and have been allotted through Property Pool Plus. 12 residents have now moved in, and all 14 homes on Site B have been allocated.
Delivering high-quality, affordable homes in New Ferry is a critical part of revitalising the town and building a sense of place and community. It’ s fantastic to see the new residents now moving in and getting to know each other, as well as the progress being made on the wider scheme – it’ s the first of many milestones to come.
It’ s a real joy to welcome our first residents into their beautiful new homes in New Ferry! This is an exciting milestone not just for them, but for the wider community and all of us at Regenda, as we see the area come back to life. It’ s been lovely to watch residents connect with their neighbours, meet the project team and their neighbourhood housing officer during the celebration. We’ re looking forward to welcoming the final residents later this year, which will mark the completion of Phase 1 in New Ferry’ s regeneration.
Alongside the new housing being brought forward, significant improvements are also planned for the Bebington Road area. Almost £ 5.5m of funding is in place to deliver a scheme of public realm improvements that will address road safety concerns and anti-social behaviour issues, and ultimately create an enhanced, more appealing town centre environment. This will include high quality spaces with greenery, new paved areas, new seating and traffic calming measures.
6 wirrallife. com