Muse Developments set for £1bn Wirral regeneration project

Muse Developments set for £1bn Wirral regeneration project
Conway Park Station and Europa Boulevard

Muse Developments has been selected as the preferred bidder to partner on the proposed £1bn Wirral regeneration opportunity, Insider can reveal. The project is set to provide new homes, commercial, retail and leisure developments, thousands of jobs and a boost to property values, as well as help attract further investment.

Wirral Council's cabinet will meet next week to approve a recommendation to appoint the developer, which has operations in Manchester, as its joint venture partner to create the Wirral Growth Company (WGC); a ten-year initiative to fast track economic growth in the borough.

"Wirral Growth Company may well be seen as an important first step in a decade of growth, shaping our 21st century economic fortunes."

If given formal approval to proceed, WGC will begin consultation and engagement with residents and businesses on how to drive regeneration of various sites in the likes of Bebington, Birkenhead, Bromborough, Moreton and Seacombe.

The council is also keen to for regeneration works to take place in New Ferry following the gas explosion almost 12 months ago, with the authority awaiting the government's response to a request for funding.

Under the proposals being put to cabinet, the profits from the developments would be split 50-50, with the authority's share providing income to be reinvested in front-line services.

Council leader Phil Davies, who recently spoke of the £1bn investment at the Invest in Wirral breakfast event, will recommend the creation of the joint venture with Muse Developments. He told Insider that the initiative would play an important part in "boosting the local economy, providing new employment and delivering much-needed new housing".

"Three years ago, this administration set our 2020 pledges and I am delighted to recommend Wirral Growth Company to play a key role in delivering these goals," he added. "We said we would create thousands of new jobs, attract hundreds of millions in new investment, and provide good quality housing and protect and improve Wirral's attractive local environment.

"Through Wirral Growth Company we will deliver as promised on our pledges – I am incredibly excited about this opportunity and the future for Wirral."

Since launching the search for a joint venture partner at MIPIM in March 2017, officers have been working to identify a suitable partner to meet the council's growth ambitions.

Last year more than 100 developers, investors, construction companies, architects and planners saw the opportunities available in Wirral and participated in soft market testing of the Wirral Growth Company proposal.


New Birkenhead Market and leisure complex

During the subsequent four month-long negotiations, bidding parties were asked to explain how they would go about creating grade A office space in Birkenhead, as well as providing new affordable housing in Seacombe and extra care housing in Moreton, amongst other schemes. Four national and international investment consortia competed to be the joint venture partner for Wirral Growth Company, before Muse Developments was selected as the preferred bidder.

"Three years ago, this administration set our 2020 pledges and I am delighted to recommend Wirral Growth Company to play a key role in delivering these goals."

Davies hailed the standard of the final bids as "very high".

"Those who say the council should or could do this alone are mistaken," he said. "These are projects which simply cannot be developed by the council in isolation: we don't have the required resources, skills or capacity to achieve regeneration on this scale without a partner.

"If cabinet accept my recommendation to create the joint venture, the next steps include starting the conversation with local residents about what, where, when and how regeneration begins across Wirral.

"Potential partners were taken by the quality already on offer in Wirral and new opportunities offered by Woodside's dramatic river views, the majesty of Hamilton Square, the beach towns and villages dotted across the borough. As a public sector organisation we have strict procurement rules to follow to ensure the legal and financial elements of the deal are the best possible for the council, but I also wanted to make sure Wirral got the best possible social outcomes from the deal.

"That is why we have included commitments to hire locally, buy supplies from and contract with local firms, train local workers, and meet the highest environmental, health and safety standards in the deal."

Davies also stressed the importance of ensuring the Wirral Growth Company makes "sound commercial sense" for the authority.

"Too often, local authorities sell land or assets to private speculators or developers, and beyond those initial land value receipts, take no benefit from any development that follows," he said. "Similarly, other than through the limited planning controls at its disposal, councils relinquish any influence over the speed, purpose and quality of what does or doesn't ultimately get built.

"With the deal being proposed, we will have full involvement in every development decision, we will benefit from the economic growth any regeneration creates and, as a 50-50 joint venture, we will benefit from the profits the development delivers – money the council can reinvest in front line services our residents rely on."

Concluding, Davies said: "Wirral's development story began nearly 200 years ago when investors were encouraged to choose our Peninsula to build great shipyards, factories and plan new towns and villages that were the envy of the world. Today, we face new challenges – how to fund our public services, improve job opportunities for residents, provide suitable housing, and attracting new investment into our borough.

"Wirral Growth Company may well be seen as an important first step in a decade of growth, shaping our 21st century economic fortunes."

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