New £13m Dock Branch Park project set to transform Birkenhead

A brand new park is set to be created in Birkenhead, with the potential to transform the look of the town.

Work on Dock Branch Park, a green space which will be nearly a mile long and run through the centre of the town along a disused railway line, could start before the end of next year.

Dock Branch Park, a £13 million project, will link the town centre to Wirral Waters, a massive scheme which could create up to 13,000 homes along Birkenhead’s former docklands over the next 30 years.

It is hoped the park and the new ‘travel corridor’ it will create can boost the local housing market which could create more than 1,000 new homes, as well as leisure space.

As part of the Dock Branch Park project, Wirral Council is talking to Network Rail, which still owns the site, with a view to taking ownership of it.

Funding for Dock Branch Park scheme

This project has been made possible due to the huge amount of outside funding Wirral Council has secured for the regeneration of Birkenhead, a town which has been in decline for decades.

The local authority now has more than £100 million in total from Homes England, the government’s Town Deal, Future High Streets fund and Levelling Up fund, as well as from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCR).

For Dock Branch Park, Wirral Council will receive £13 million from the LCR’s Sustainable Travel Settlement Fund.

More redevelopment plans for Birkenhead

The park is just one part of major plans for Birkenhead, which include moving Birkenhead Market to the former House of Fraser building, new food and drink outlets and up to 1,000 homes on disused land in Hind Street.

The council is also set to make it much easier to walk around the town, with a new ‘super crossing’ on Conway Street and changes to the approach from Birkenhead Central station into the town centre including the removal of the flyovers.

As well as this, two major office blocks are set to be built on the former Milton Pavements site.