34 apartments to be built on New Ferry explosion site

In March 2017, a gas explosion resulted in damage to a number of commercial and residential buildings in the area of Boundary Road and Bebington Road in New Ferry.

Following the explosion, Wirral Council put in place an immediate response plan that resulted in the demolition of dangerous structures and the relocation of affected residents and businesses.

A Regeneration Delivery Plan was then produced to help rebuilt the affected area.

A design and access statement by John Mccall Architects outlines plans for three sites comprising of a mix of apartments and houses for social rent and shared ownership.

The plans propose that 14 apartments will be built at Bebington Road, New Ferry (known as Site B) and 20 apartments at former 41 to 43, Bebington Road, New Ferry (known as Site C).

The apartments will be a mix of one and two bedrooms with communal parking spaces.

Site B was formerly occupied by a mixture of ground-floor shops with flats above, these shops were largely formed as ground-floor extensions to terraced houses. These buildings acted to enclose the public space on Bebington Road and form a built boundary to New Ferry and Port Sunlight.

Site C occupies a corner and gateway between New Ferry and Port Sunlight. The proposed improvements to Bebington Road state it “will create a gateway” at this location and “hopes to provide a building which acts as a landmark to create a sense of place for the future evolution of New Ferry.”

Ahead of submitting the planning application, residents in the local community were asked about the proposed development during two separate sessions in September.

Responses to the consultation interpreted data received from Wirral Council. Overall 60 people attended the in-person events and 1,699 visits to the website were made, these generated 141 contributions from 78 respondents of these 50 were positive, 32 neutral and 29 were negative.

When questioned about the residential proposals respondents expressed 21 positive, 20 neutral and 20 negative opinions. Feedback on the proposals stressed the need for “affordable, good-sized homes with a secondary focus on provision of sustainable development with green and outdoor spaces”.

Common themes of lack of new retail and relocation of the wood head street carpark (subject to a separate application) emerged alongside concerns over the management of the development and measures to address the existing anti-social behaviour in the area.