Woodside Masterplan

Wirral Council is creating a masterplan for the regeneration of the Woodside area. The Vision for Woodside is to create a vibrant unique waterfront destination on the Wirral for everyone, achieved by:

• Establish Woodside as THE Focal Point to the unique views of Liverpool’s skyline and a celebratory experience for all. As important to Liverpool as it is to Birkenhead and Wirral.
• A place that nurtures a highly visible cultural offering from the Right Bank of the River Mersey, drawing a tourist economy to Birkenhead’s Left Bank and driving mixed use regeneration.
• Somewhere that brings the people back to Woodside, creating a place that is vibrant and mixed in its use and users, a place for locals and tourists, driving economic sustainability.
• Acting as a key connector to the wider Birkenhead with clear routes into the landmark Priory, Hamilton Square, and on to the Town Centre to create strong circuits of movement.
• A place that celebrates the heritage and history of Birkenhead a place of firsts while balancing them with the opportunity for new landmark development to act as a catalyst for change and restore pride in Woodside.
• Capitalise on the connected travel options with a joined up travel strategy for ferry, bus, cycles and pedestrians making this an easy and enjoyable place to get to and experience.
• Create an enhanced unique maritime landscape setting that enhances the promenade pedestrian and cycle movement and connects people with the waterfront from the town centre

Map of the Woodside masterplan area

• 1700 homes within the Masterplan redline and approximately 2560 in total including the areas outside of the redline masterplanned.
• 2 new hotels, but potential for more.
• 11,300 sqm of active ground floor uses including workspaces, food and beverages, leisure and health.
• 2 new multi-storey carparks supporting a centralised parking solution - 1 within the masterplan boundary.
• Opportunity for a major new cultural attraction.
• Enhanced public realm.
• New external event space.
• Improved cycleways and enhanced connections to public transport and the town centre.

The masterplan aspiration is underpinned by £23 million investment being injected into the area through the Levelling Up and Town Deal Funds. This will see the area stretching from Argyle Street/Conway Street roundabout to Woodside Ferry Terminal be redesigned to be more attractive with improved landscaping, more accessible walking and cycling spaces. This will create better connection between the Central Birkenhead retail area and the Waterfront, in particular for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users.

The funding will also see a refresh of the U Boat Story and planned expansion for the Battle of the Atlantic attraction, as well as providing a new modernised ferry pontoon and works to enhance the Woodside Ferry Terminal. Some of these packages of work will commence in 2024 and stretch into 2025. It is going to be a busy 2-3 years for Woodside and will pave the way for private sector partners to come forward in due course with their own projects.

This engagement seeks your opinion on the proposed masterplan for the area. We will use your feedback to review and finalise the draft masterplan. You can view the Masterplan in full, or view an Executive Summary in the Documents section of this page.

To provide your feedback please complete the survey below. This engagement is is open for contributions until 18 March 2024.