Plans for Merseyside version of New York's Brooklyn with stunning view of city skyline - how it could look

Merseyside’s Brooklyn - with 'one of the best views in the world' - could become a major cultural destination with thousands of new homes, new hotels, and a new park.

Wirral Council has unveiled its proposed masterplan for the area around the Woodside Ferry Terminal it calls “one of the best development sites on the Wirral, if not Merseyside,” adding: “This is Brooklyn to the New York skyline – the great place to live with an amazing view, but so much more.”

It outlines a number of development proposals which will help support the council’s draft Local Plan and offer planning guidance if that wider policy is approved by the government. The masterplan is being underpinned by a £23m investment from government grant funding including Levelling Up and Town Deal Funds.

The council’s draft masterplan said Woodside could become “a thriving waterfront community” and “represents an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of the waterfront and create a sustainable new community at the heart of the city region.”

The area would provide around 630 new homes but this could rise to more than 1,700 homes within the waterfront area and around 2,560 in total in the wider area if longer term ambitions become reality. The council’s own housing trajectory said the first homes in the area won’t be delivered until at least 2026.

Wirral Council will also need to kick start again £5m plans to help build around 335 homes on the site of the Land Registry building at Rosebrae Court, which has stalled due to ongoing negotiations with the government.

The masterplan includes proposals for a rooftop viewing platform and potential bar at the top of a nearby 21 storey Mersey tunnel ventilation shaft, at least two new hotels, new multi storey car parks, cafes, restaurants, bars, and a pontoon. It also includes the plans for a revamped ferry terminal and U-boat museum.

Currently 6.3m people visit the Albert Dock on the Liverpool side of the river but only 88,000 get on board from Woodside. The proposed developments hope to change that by creating an area that will attract people across the river, adding: “Woodside is a place that can capture and enhance Liverpool’s tourist economy and drive new footfall to Birkenhead and the Wirral.”

The masterplan outlines several phases of development with the first phase including the new Battle of the Atlantic museum, reconfiguring the bus gyratory, upgrading the waterfront, renovating the Woodside Ferry Terminal, and creating a new park. These proposals are being funded through the Levelling Up fund and are expected to be delivered by 2025.

While this takes place, several proposals have been put forward including a viewing platform on the ventilation tower, improved lighting in the area, a drive-in cinema or events space at Bridge Street, and using Morpeth Dock to house a historic ship as a visitor attraction there.

Longer term ambitions include demolishing the former Woodside Hotel and Land Registry building to build housing there. New car parks and a new hotel are also outlined with up to 800 homes provided. The next phase would be looking at creating “a cultural landmark building” followed by new roads, new residential blocks, and two hotels.

Phases five and six include new office plans, housing, the pontoon, and new housing and a multi storey car park near Cheshire lines.

Cllr Tony Jones, chair of Wirral Council’s Economy, Regeneration and Housing Committee, said: “We have secured considerable funding for regeneration and we want to press ahead but it is vital that the regeneration works for the people of this borough – so please use this chance to tell us your thoughts about these proposals so we can make sure this meets the needs of those who ought to benefit the most from it.”

A consultation on the masterplan can be found on the council’s website and the below images show how it could look.