The market will be moved to St Werburghs Square whilst the town centre is redeveloped. Google Maps is showing it where Game and H Samuel jewellers are, and where St Werburghs Church is, so I'm confused on the exact location. Anyway, how can you fit a market in either of these places? And what would happen to the meat and fish market?
I haven't been down that way for some time; perhaps vacant units can house the meat and fish sections, and some others too? You could fit some market stalls in around the trees, which might actually look rather good, but not loads.
The traders are certainly not happy about it and many may just walk away. I know a lot of people say the market is dead, but if these proposals go ahead without the majority in favour of it, we will see the market slowly disappear. And if that happens, why build a new market for them whilst this temporary one dies a slow death?
The council is now proposing to use the town’s former House of Fraser building. This is a better option than St Werburghs for the stall holders but I think the best option would be the old Marks and Spencer building because it is the centre of the town, and that is the preferred destination of the stall holders as well.
Yes, I agree with your last post mikeeb, using the old Marks and Spencers building would be ideal and I suspect the traders would do better business due to it's location.
So they have binned the new market being down by Conway Park Station. I wonder what they have planned there now? The station was built 30 years ago with the concept of it becoming the centralised shopping area, it has been in a permanent turmoil ever since. The station is heavily used as a commuter station, perhaps they have eventually realised the car park needs to stay for that purpose.
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
In the masterplan the new market was getting built pretty much where it is now but it looks smaller. Maybe it will be 2 floors? By the train station, there plan is for hotels and residential buildings. One thing we do know is, plans don't always turn out the way they are planned. The market is C and G is the hotel/residential plans by Conway Park. https://wirralgrowthcompany.co.uk/birkenhead/
I don't think the market will be two storey, they said they were reducing the size of the market substantially, the current figure is 35,000 sqft compared to the existing market of about 80,000 sqft.
They are getting rid of outside stalls, I doubt there will be any on-the-day stalls available so basically it will be a shopping precinct not a market.
This is nothing about building a new market, it is about capitalising 2/3rds of the land the market sits on. Not the Council's fault, they have to look at capitalising their assets due to gross under funding from central funds.
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
Times change and shopping habits along with it. I was there last saturday. Theres nothing wrong with the currant building, that a spruce up would not solve but not enough people go there anymore to spend money. I bet the council would love to just get rid of it all together but that would be too politically damaging, even by their standards. Its still not such a bad place compared to somewhere like Liscard. Its a shame most of the bigger retailers could not have stuck it out longer and stayed there.
Will Europa Boulevard, (the road to nowhere) be renamed now we're out of Europe? It might have been appropriate when we were 'Eurowirral' (remember that?) but surely not now we have reverted to boring old Wirral again.
Any suggestions as to the new name?
I was tempted to suggest that the site of the market could have been made over into a space port, but didn't for fear that it was (like the Birkenhead Column, a tornado to put us on the map) so thoroughly bonkers that the Council might have taken me seriously.
I recall visiting an exhibition of what was called "Wirral Waters" No expense had been spared on the model, artists impressions and video fly throughs. Birkenhead docks looked like downtown Manhattan. Towereing glass ziggurats were everywhere, equipped with helipads. The sunlit west float was full of yachts and water skiers.
On cross questioning the smiling assistant, it turned out to be no more than fantasy. Nobody had signed up to build or occupy any of the magnificent waterside properties. What was depicted was what COULD happen were Birkenhead to by some miracle become the heart of western civilisation with people fighting to set up international HQs here.
Took some pictures of the Wirral Waters residences they are building on the docks about a month ago. Basically they are putting up the cheapest things they can just to stop everyone saying they aren't doing anything on the vast amounts of land that Peel Holdings (or whatever it is called today) possess
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
House of Fraser/Beatties/Allansons building is to be demolished to make way for a new market plus housing.
This continued demolition of perfectly sound buildings annoys me, more money for financiers more debt for rate payers and less character for the town.
If we are going to run councils as private businesses, at least allow the rate payers to become share holders and create some sort of community spirit and ownership - as was done in the past.
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
![[Linked Image]](https://wirralgrowthcompany.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/WGC_Birkenhead_Masterplan_Markers-1.jpg)
