A plan to revitalise a struggling retail centre in Wirral is boosted as it secures £10.7m Levelling Up funding from the Government. Tony McDonough reports
£10.7m of Government Levelling Up funding will help kick-start the regeneration of a Wirral town centre.
Wirral Council first bid for Levelling Up cash for Liscard town centre in Wallasey in July 2022 but was unsuccessful. Now the Government has looked again at the plans and has given its approval.
Liscard is now one of 55 projects across the country to have been selected to receive cash from the Round 3 of Levelling Up grants which total more than £1.1bn.
In the original bid, the council included investment in community facilities, upgraded shop frontages and unlocking development potential for leisure and retail. There are also improvements planned for pedestrians and cyclists.
These are a key part of the council’s wider regeneration ambitions across the ‘Left Bank’ of the borough. This stretches from Bromborough and New Ferry through Birkenhead and Wirral Waters to Liscard and New Brighton.
To make sure it gets the funding the council must now confirm the initial bid will still benefit from Government funding, show the project is still deliverable by March 2026 and continues to represent value for money.
Leader of Wirral Council, Cllr Paul Stuart, said: “Liscard has struggled like so many town centres up and down the country as shopping habits have changed, and it has been important to the council to help it adapt to the changes in economic circumstances.
“This is a huge boost for the town and the funding will go some considerable way towards helping us make sure Liscard has a bright and prosperous future.
“I’m also pleased that funding such as this shows how the council’s broader ambitions for the Left Bank area are being recognised at a national level.
“The last few years have seen Wirral Council attracting significant funding to help us with regeneration that delivers for the people of this borough.”
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Cllr Janette Williamson, who led the council when the Levelling Up bid for Liscard was prepared and initially submitted, added: “We have fought long and hard for this funding and help for Liscard.
“I’m incredibly pleased to see that it has now paid off after the disappointment earlier in the year.
“Liscard is on the up, it is seeing more and more independent businesses base themselves here, and this will go a long way to giving local traders and residents a well-deserved boost of confidence.”