INITIAL plans for the regeneration of New Ferry which include a village green and demolishing the Co-op building have been made available to the public.

Over the past few months there have been discussions and ideas put forward for the future of the town at regular community meetings.

Demolition has already begun on the worst affected buildings at the explosion site.

Properties from numbers 56 to 66 Bebington Road, which took the brunt of the blast on March 25, are being dismantled by FTS Demolition Ltd in a 10-week contract.

Wirral Council has appointed consultants GVA to explore the ideas put forward by local people.

More detailed plans and impressions will come forward later after the consultation process.

So far four options have been outlined to residents during meetings this week.

There are plans ranging from maximum to minimum change which include; demolishing the Co-op building and creating a new village green, new family homes on Grove Street, townhouses and mews homes at the junction of Boundary Road and Bebington Road and the introduction of enhanced crossing points for pedestrians.

In a couple of weeks plans will be finalised for submission to the Government and other agencies to receive fundraising support.

The council say that this support will be critical to delivering the regeneration.

David Ball who is leading Wirral Council’s recovery operation after the blast said: “This is a really significant stage in our response to what happened in March and we want everyone’s input into the regeneration plans.

"New Ferry deserves to see progress made and the proposals must be realistic and deliverable.

“Once the consultation has been completed we will be reporting back to the next community meeting on Monday, September 18 at 5.30pm in St. Mark’s Church Hall and then within a couple of weeks we will finalize the regeneration plan ready for submission to Government and various other agencies for funding support which will be critical to delivering the regeneration.”

There is a public drop-in event at St Mark’s Church on New Chester Road from 2pm to 7pm today (Wednesday) and on Thursday, September 14.

People can also submit their comments on the proposals through a short online survey https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GHXX7NX