New Brighton’s revival starts to take shape

Mar 10 2008 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

New Brighton

NEW Brighton is ready “to realise its potential” as detailed plans for the major phase of the town’s redevelopment are submitted to Wirral planners next week.

The move by Neptune Developments comes as the company releases fresh images of how the new Floral Pavilion theatre in the town will look.

The Floral is part of the first phase of the regeneration of New Brighton, and is expected to be completed on schedule later this year.

Neptune’s £70m scheme has had a difficult history with a series of changes and massive opposition to one proposal which would have seen the Marine Lake on the seafront filled in. But, despite a public inquiry turning down one scheme, the Liverpool-based developer pushed ahead with an amended scheme which was finally approved last year.

Work has already started on the first phase, which is seeing the reconstruction of the Floral Pavilion, and next to it a block of apartments and shops.

Neptune’s development director, Rob Mason, said 18 of the 37 new apartments planned for the Town Square development had already been sold.

Mr Mason added: “Bearing in mind they have not even come out of the ground yet, that’s not bad. And that is a mix of investors and people planning to live in them.” They appeared to be particularly desirable to people already in Wirral, which is part of their rationale for sponsoring this year’s Wirral Show.

The planning application for the second stage of the New Brighton project is being assessed by Wirral Council’s legal department before being formally submitted.

It will cover work to the Marine Lake which will be drained and surveyed, and a new inner seawall, along with moving the model boating lake and remodelling land around it.

It is hoped this could be dealt with within eight weeks, although work is not expected to begin until late summer.

Silt from the Marine Lake will fill in the land where the former outdoor baths once stood, with the remainder being filled using aggregate from the Mersey Bar.

New Brighton councillor Pat Hackett said it was “now time for New Brighton to realise its potential”. He added: “This project will not just enhance New Brighton but the whole of Wirral, providing facilities for visitors and local people alike, along with jobs and improved quality of life.”

Following the completion of the Floral Pavilion and Town Square area, phase two of the scheme will see a Morrisons supermarket, cinema, bars, cafes, hotel and a leisure complex with outdoor pool built over the next couple of years.

Discussions are taking place between Neptune and FX Leisure to operate this part of the development, and a combined heat and power plant is likely to be used.

The initial contractor for the Town Square apartments went into liquidation before Christmas, but more contractors have bid for the work and building could start mid-April.

Work is also continuing on designs for the core buildings of the supermarket and those around it, with a planning application expected within three months.

Rob Smith, Wirral Council’s head of arts and museums, said they hoped to re-open with the pantomime at Christmas.

liammurphy