THERE was more grim news on the regeneration and redevelopment front today, as another Merseyside project appeared to be in difficulties.

The multi-million pound plan to bring a luxury hotel to West Kirby looks as though it may now be substantially scaled back, and the developer is about to be granted extra time to work on their scheme.

The company behind the £10m scheme, Carpenter Investments, says the downsizing of the project – the luxury hotel is shrinking from 80 to 40 bedrooms – comes in response to public consultation.

But the scale of the development will no doubt have been also compromised by the gloomy economy. Just as the Mersey Observatory project is now lagging behind schedule, with fears that it may slip further, due to the downturn, so other exciting and ambitious schemes are going to be feeling the pinch.

The positive thing about the West Kirby proposal is that the developer says it remains "100% committed" to the scheme, which includes a luxury hotel on the Marine Lake, restaurant, bar, spa and conference facilities, shops, and an information centre for Hilbre Island, and would create around 50 jobs.

At a time when building sites are standing empty and regeneration schemes are grinding to a halt, it is so important that Merseyside is able to build on the momentum it has earned through Liverpool’s reign as European Capital of Culture 2008.

To enter 2009 in a downward spiral of abandoned or abbreviated projects could send an unwanted message to potential investors. It is to be hoped that Carpenter Investments make the most of the extension offered to work on the plan; the company appears to have listened to what residents want – now it just has to deliver.