Wirral Waters

[aek-94]

Nice photos

[joseph123456789]

Wirral Council's leader told a packed audience of bosses that he intends to make the borough the most business-friendly area in the country.

Councillor Steve Foulkes said that together, they were on the right track to creating a strong and dynamic borough - but there were still significant challenges to overcome.

Councillor Foulkes was speaking at the Invest Wirral annual conference at New Brighton's Floral Pavilion and outlined work the authority is doing to encourage investment in the borough.

He highlighted the £4.5bn Wirral Waters development and Peel International Trade Centre, which received planning permission in September.

On the same day Asda's new superstore opened in Birkenhead - creating hundreds of jobs for local people - Cllr Foulkes said there was a pressing need to tackle unemployment by helping businesses to grow.

He said: “We have big challenges to face, but they are challenges that I am determined to meet.

"I want Wirral to be a place where entrepreneurship is encouraged, where jobs and wealth creation are championed and where, above all else, is a great place to invest, work and live.

“Our business support is, I believe, targeted to make a positive difference to the private sector - and we are determined to make Wirral the most business-friendly area in the country.”

The conference took place on Tuesday and was attended by around 300 representatives from Wirral businesses.

Presentations were from Asif Hamid, chief executive of Birkenhead-based Contact Company and acting chairman of Liverpool City Region, Wirral Council’s chief executive Jim Wilkie, and Andy Leach, chief executive of North West Fund

[R.K.Teck]

You guys will be spoilled if Wirrel Waters and Liverpool Waters both go ahead!

Deserve them both though!

[aek-94]

Thank you!

[joseph123456789]

good

[Portobello Red]

Birkenhead Docks 1950s
mickeyashworth
image hosted on flickr

[MR KITE]

Uniform to brand £4.5bn Wirral Waters development

The development, by Peel Holdings, will see the 500-acre, semi-derelict Birkenhead and Wallasey dock, opposite Liverpool city centre, converted into mixed development of offices, residential, education and cultural buildings.

It will be built in a series of staged developments over the next 30 years.

Uniform has been tasked by Peel to develop an umbrella identity for the development. Uniform design director Tim Sharp says, ‘We’ve taken a place-branding approach, the development will be a city in its own right.’

The consultancy has undertaken a research stage (including this Cultural Probe Pack, distributed to local schoolchildren) and has presented positioning to Peel Holdings. The identity is set to launch later this year.

Sharp says it is likely that the Wirral Waters name will remain, and that the positioning is being built around a central point of ‘history plus destiny’.

He adds, ‘We need to develop a living brand that will stretch, as what the development looks like later this year when the brand launches might be totally different from how it will look in 10 years time.’

Uniform managing director Nick Howe says, ‘From a branding perspective, we believe this is about getting to a unique proposition, which aligns the rich pioneering history and ambitious destiny of Wirral Waters.’

The first Wirral Waters development to go live will be the £200 million Peel International Trade Centre. Work will begin on this project early next year.

http://www.designweek.co.uk/news/uni...034852.article

[jets9]

It's nice to see Peel choose a local outfit for key development work. Without trying to be unfair to Peel in their colossal and arduous slog to render Wirrral and Liverpool Waters alive and kicking at birth...they have so far tended to choose Gt Manchester firms for contracts.

http://www.uniform.net/


http://www.liverpoolvision.co.uk/New...rk_awards.aspx

[HollyBlack]

Originally Posted by MR KITE

Uniform to brand £4.5bn Wirral Waters development ...

The first Wirral Waters development to go live will be the £200 million Peel International Trade Centre. Work will begin on this project early next year.

http://www.designweek.co.uk/news/uni...034852.article

Interesting.
According to June 2010 publication from Peel -
http://www.wirralwaters.co.uk/pdf/Pl...blic_Realm.pdf
the West Float is part of the operational port and is not part of Wirral Waters.
Which is why the International Trade Centre is more of a shed than a Wirral Waters high-rise.

[MR KITE]

Green light for Wirral Waters tree-planting project

A SCHEME to plant trees on green spaces and roads leading to the planned Wirral Waters development has been unanimously approved.

The £1m project, which will create an environmentally friendly approach to the £4.5bn docklands venture, was given the go-ahead by Wirral Council's cabinet on Thursday night.

Peel Developments' Wirral Waters proposal – which has been given the green light by the government - will create more than 20,000 jobs in a broad range of commercial sectors; more than 13,000 homes; office and workshop accommodation and extensive leisure and cultural facilities over a 30 to 40-year period.
Click Here for Camp Law

The planting scheme will involve the planting of up to 600 trees on the approaches to East and West Floats at Wirral docks.

http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/98...nting_project/

[buggedboy]

The local authority are showing willing. Good idea.

[HollyBlack]

Originally Posted by buggedboy

The local authority are showing willing. Good idea.

It is, but tree planting is exactly the kind of project where local community and schools involvement works best. Let is hope the million is spent with small local nurseries than with one large contractor.

Or at least they have the contractor prepare the ground and the locals do the actual planting. The locals will do a better job at choosing suitable varieties anyway.

Unlike the whoever the dimwit was that caused beech trees to be planted near the former New Brighton swimming pool. I assume those beeches are all dead by now??

[Awayo]

Radio Merseyside this morning reported on plans for an auto-parts manufacturing plant on Wirral Waters. They interviewed a Wirral MBC investment manager at Beaumont Road in Birkenhead's North End, implying that the development will be at the upper reaches of the dock system. Not what we expected of WW of course. I guess that the tax-free status of the Liverpool Water Enterprise Zone has something to do with this. Peel are dodge but they do have a habit of filling their sites, one way or another.

The parts plant plan is mentioned in passing in this Wirral Globe article: http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/10...tcar_revealed/. Along with a streetcar plan for the whole site and trees, lots of trees.

[buggedboy]

The whole project is likely to chop and change as it goes along, but they will fill it. of that I have little doubt.

[Awayo]

The Wirral MBC guy sounded very bullish about this, as if it was a done deal, and that site preparation was underway, although that is happening anyway in that part of WW because of the trade centre works. A manager from GM was interviewed as well who, while not mentioning this Birkenhead car parts plant proposal by name, spoke warm words about developing parts suppliers for UK car assembly plants here. That he was willing to talk and be quoted on the day of this WW announcement sounds like more than a hint that he is aware that the factory will be suppying his car plant at Ellesmere Port at the very least. I would suspect a more serious involvement (investment? Part or full ownership? A GM susidiary company?).

[Awayo]

The Echo's woken up to the news: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liver...name_page.html.

[HollyBlack]

Originally Posted by Awayo

... The parts plant plan is mentioned in passing in this Wirral Globe article: http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/10...tcar_revealed/. Along with a streetcar plan for the whole site and trees, lots of trees.

Interesting that they go to some length to point out the intention to use streetcars rather than trams.

I wonder how many people in the Old World even know the difference?

(In modern usage the popular distinction is that a streetcar is a short wheelbase vehicle, whereas a tram has a longer wheelbase. Both run on standard gauge rails 4ft8.5in.)

[Paul D]

I really hope this comes off, I don't care how they fill this site as long as it creates jobs. It's strategically in the perfect place for this development with Jaguar and Vauxhall being nearby and I think those generous tax breaks along with the location will prove just too tempting, bring it on.

[Awayo]

Regarding the car parts park, this quote from Mr Addersley of Wirral Council about the development might be worth keeping in mind for the time being: "No company is signed up or committed to the development yet”.

Possibly still all Peel blag then...

[Paul D]

There's every reason why they'd want to use this site though so hopefully there's something in it.