A MULTI-million pound housing programme kick-starting Wirral Waters' residential development has been given the green light by councillors today.

The authority's cabinet backed Peel Holdings' 'Wirral Waters One' - a £90m scheme for 500 apartments – earlier this year.

It met again this morning to rubber-stamp the plan's finer details.

In July, Peel were slammed by Wirral South MP Alison McGovern for 'failing' to build homes at Wirral Waters, and told to "put a roof over people's heads or get out of the way and let someone else do it."

In response, a spokesman for Peel said the company remained "absolutely committed" to house building on the site.

Richard Mawdsley, director of development at Peel Land and Property, said: "The first residential quarter at Wirral Waters is becoming a reality.

"Wirral Waters One will incorporate state of the art residential design and innovation which will lead the way in making Wirral Waters an incredible place to live."

The apartment blocks will be built on the waterfront site, with 20% of the new apartments available at affordable rents – twice the usual rate for this type of scheme.

There will also be parking, high quality landscaping and a pedestrian route along the dock edge linking the residential developments.

A building adjacent to the junction at Dock Road/Duke Street will also provide services and amenities for local residents.

A joint venture between the council and landowners Peel Holdings, the development includes the Legacy Foundation - an investment fund established by former Tranmere Rovers player Aaron Cresswell - who will provide £100,000 of funding to the Hive Youth Zone to support community activities for young people in the area.

Glenn Howells, Director at Glenn Howells Architects, said: "It is important that we create a living, thriving residential project with a real sense of place.

"We want to create a new mixed-use community that will set the standard for developing successful new waterside homes at Wirral Waters, focused around a sense of community and individual warehouse living."

Urging the company to honour that commitment Cllr Angela Davies, Wirral’s cabinet member for jobs and growth, said: "We have been clear with every developer and landowner in this borough who has planning permissions in place: we will support you every step of the way, but we need you to build the homes you promised.

"The Wirral Waters One proposal shows just how serious we are in our determination to get brownfield sites developed.

"These types of schemes are always difficult for private developers to make viable.

"The council has stepped in and made it work, securing national funding to improve local infrastructure and devising a commercial approach which will see the financing put in place.

"It will also help Wirral in the longer term by generating ongoing revenue from the homes which are built which can be used to help unlock additional brownfield sites for development.

"This is an exciting proposition which will play a significant part in helping us to deliver the new housing which the area so desperately needs and will also help kick-start even more development on one of the key regeneration sites in Wirral."