Sarah Townsend
The council has purchased the 70,000 sq ft retail building for £2m, to help facilitate the next part of its regeneration of the town centre.
The two-storey 1930s property on Grange Road in Birkenhead was bought by overseas investor Autumn Properties in 2014 for £5m. It has housed department store House of Fraser, which went into administration in 2019, for the past few decades.
Although many of House of Fraser’s UK stores were saved when Sports Direct chief Mike Ashley acquired the struggling retailer later that year, the Birkenhead outlet was one of the stores earmarked for closure. The building has lain vacant since last March.
In March last year, the department store on Grange Road closed. But Wirral Council’s purchase of the large, well-known building in the town centre ensures it will not remain empty in the long-term. The authority said its decision means the property will also not be left open to third-party development which could add little or no value to the community. The council’s purchase bolsters its striking plans for Birkenhead, which include a new market and food and drink outlets which could overhaul the town’s hospitality offering, as well as new office space. The building’s Grange Road location could be further improved if a scheme to remove flyovers which separate Hind Street and the town centre is given the go-ahead.
Artist s impression of what will be built on the recently purchased Milton Pavements Several big regeneration plans in Wirral are set to move forward next year, despite the coronavirus pandemic. A number of towns in the east of the borough are set to benefit from major investment as a result. Here’s what’s happening in each area.
Birkenhead Perhaps the most talked about regeneration plan in the borough has been the one in Birkenhead. The project, which will be delivered over several phases throughout the next 15 years, aims to reduce the number of vacant units, while overhauling the town’s office space and leisure facilities.