Peel’s plans for Wirral Waters, recommended for approval, are due to be heard by Wirral Council’s planning committee next Tuesday, August 3.

Cllr Anderson said: “I don’t want us to do something and it have a detrimental effect on what is happening in Wirral, and vice versa. It’s about reaching an agreement.”

Cllr Green said it had been “vital” to get the agreement with Liverpool and said Cllr Anderson was “doing what is in the interest of the whole city region”, and insisted Wirral Waters would create jobs and a sense of opportunity for young people in the borough and beyond.

Both leaders were keen to emphasise their joint approach and Cllr Anderson said he hoped their agreement would send a “signal to the private sector” to invest in the region.

Cllr Green added: “At one time Liverpool would have objected to this and Joe coming here supporting it – it bodes well for the whole region.”

Lindsey Ashworth, development director for Peel, said the agreement between the councils was “massive” and would help reduce the chance of delays to the project.

He said the effect of the recession meant the earliest anyone could expect to see work start on the site would be 2012, depending on the economy.