Around half the land currently outlined for the golf resort is in council ownership.

When the proposal was relaunched Wirral's director of regeneration Kevin Adderley said the intention is to find new development partners and the cost of the scheme could range from £40m-£70m, but is "only limited by the successful bidder's aspirations".

Even before the relaunch the council had been contacted by four or five world-recognised organisations making “serious inquiries” about becoming involved, but this interest has now increased significantly.

Cllr Davies said: “That is very encouraging and I think the publicity we got from the Ricoh Women's British Open was important in showcasing Wirral.

“Officers are telling me these are big name developers and investors, and that gives me confidence that there is a lot of serious interest.

“Now we are finalising the legal advice around the procurement process and hope to have that sorted by the end of the calendar year, at which point we will go out and formally invite expressions of interest.”

Cllr Davies said they also hope the prospect of The Open returning in 2014 would help and added: “I am very confident now that we will be able to make something happen.”