AMONG Peel’s ambitious plans for Wirral Waters is an “international-quality leisure destination”.

The company remained tight-lipped about this element of the scheme, but it is understood to include a number of leisure and retail elements and would probably also focus on outdoor, possibly water-based, activities.

The plans could tie in with Wirral Council’s stated aim of concentrating future shopping requirements on the Wirral Waters site.

The council needs another 85,000 square metres of non-food retail space to try and keep much of the spending from residents which “leaks” to Liverpool One, Chester and Cheshire Oaks.

According to a retail analysis of Wirral, this space – about five times the size of Croft Retail Park – is not deliverable in existing shopping centres. Lindsey Ashworth, director of Peel Developments, said these plans were several months away from being finalised.

He said the firm was focused on the main scheme in Birkenhead, along with the companion Liverpool Waters project, which is currently out for consultation.

But he insisted Peel was not planning another version of Manchester’s Trafford Centre. Jim Wilkie, deputy chief executive of Wirral Council, said: “It is crucial to note this [plan for extra space] is in addition to an allowance for growth for existing retail centres across Wirral.

“Wirral loses around 35% of non-food retail spend to shopping centres outside the borough.

“This is a challenge which must be addressed.”