HOUSE building at the Wirral Waters site will finally “accelerate” after the council’s cabinet welcomed over £6m worth of funding for the massive project.

The money, which has come from the UK Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund, will be distributed across nine separate schemes of work within the huge scheme, led by Peel and set to transform the Birkenhead docklands.

It was discussed by the council’s cabinet on Monday – the final meeting to take place before the Local Elections on May 2.

Here are five things we learnt at the Wallasey Town Hall meeting:

1. Huge funding for Wirral Waters

Over £6m of funding has been secured in a move it’s hoped will “accelerate” development on the site.

A large amount of it will be put towards remediation works, which will enable construction to begin on projects including the Wirral Waters One 500-home plan and the 347 modular home development Urban Splash development on Northbank.

Deputy council leader and cabinet member for housing, George Davies, said: “This is the start of something major in Wirral. We’re starting to believe things are really taking place.

“This is fantastic news for residents. We have said time and again we are determined to maximise every square inch of brownfield land for residential development, as part of our commitment to protecting our precious green belt.

“Wirral residents can now look forward to major improvement works being carried out at the site, quickly leading to new, attractive homes being developed for families.”

The news follows Peel’s claims there was “still work to do” after receiving planning permission from Wirral Council last year. It’s hoped the new funding will now enable construction work to start.

Also at Monday’s meeting, a £1.5m grant for Peel was approved, for the second phase of its Marine, Energy and Automotive park, aimed at supporting business growth in Wirral Waters.

2. Culture in Wirral is booming

The success of cultural events that took place in Wirral over the past year were praised – as were the upcoming events for 2019/20, for which it has been named Liverpool City Region’s Borough of Culture. That all began with Saturday’s Animated Square event at Birkenhead Town Hall, described on Monday as “excellent and well-attended”.

The council has recently completed an evaluation report from last year’s events, and described the numbers as “really impressive”. New statistics showed that there were 250,000 visitors bringing an economic impact of over £5m for local businesses in Wirral, £200,000 of external funding secured through grant and commercial opportunities and the council’s largest ever bid for funds from Arts Council England approved – £77,000.

As well as that, over 700 schoolchildren participated in events and the year saw the largest ever one-day event as part of the Giants Spectacular, when 80,000 visitors came to New Brighton.

Events coming up as part of the Borough of Culture for this year include the Tour of Britain cycling event, May’s River Festival including street animation and activities, and Art Outdoors – a programme of work featuring open spaces, local artists and pop-up exhibitions.

Council leader Phil Davies said: “It’s a great opportunity to put Wirral in the spotlight, and for the economy it’s absolutely fantastic.”

3. We’re getting a new mayor

The cabinet’s nominations for the next civic mayor to replace Cllr Geoffrey Watt were announced on Monday.

Current deputy Cllr Tony Smith has received the nomination to replace Cllr Watt.

Current deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for housing, Cllr George Davies, received the cabinet nomination for deputy mayor.

4. It was Cllr Phil Davies’ last cabinet meeting – and he’s going to miss everyone

Cllr Phil Davies announced last year he will stand down as leader after a term that began in 2012.

The Birkenhead and Tranmere ward member, who was first elected to the council in 1991, said: “A big thank you to all cabinet colleagues – you’ve been a fantastic team.”

Praising “success” stories in children’s services, leisure and the council’s staff, he added: “I’ll really miss this place, I have worked with some fantastic people. I wish everybody at the council all the very best for the future.

“I believe Wirral’s best days are ahead of it. We’ve got fantastic opportunities and we can rapidly become one of, if not the, outstanding local authority in the Liverpool City Region and the country.”

5. Millions more for Wirral’s transport and roads

The meeting also saw more than £6m funding in total committed to Wirral’s roads and transport.

£1.15m was approved as part of the borough’s transport plan for growth capital.

That will include a number schemes including pedestrian route improvements around schools, dropped kerbs and new bridges.

The cabinet also approved a £5m boost for roads, and, as reported last week, released the full list of streets set for repairs – for issues such as uneven pavements, potholes or faulty streetlights.

Cabinet member for highways, Cllr Stuart Whittingham, told the meeting: “The quality of roads and highways is a big priority for residents, which puts it at the top of our agenda too.

“Wirral residents expect to travel on a transport network which is safe, efficient and of a high quality. This is what we work every day towards delivering and I am delighted we are now in a position to go even further.”