Development Opportunity: Seaview Road – Site of former Liscard Municipal Buildings and Adjacent Carpark

Wirral Council (the “Council”) is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. The Council’s Economy, Regeneration, and Housing Committee adopted the Neighbourhood Framework for Liscard: An Integrated Master Plan on 22 November 2021. The Masterplan is published on Wirral Council's website, and the vision is to create a Liscard town centre loved by local people where:  Everyone feels welcome;  People can live, work, and play;  There is a strong sense of local identity, and;  People can come together. Members of the Council’s Policy and Resources Committee (the Committee) agreed on 12 July 2023 to declare the former Liscard Municipal Offices [fronting onto Egerton Grove and the adjacent carpark accessed by Seaview Road and behind businesses fronting on to Seaview Road and Liscard Village] (the Site) surplus to requirements (further context on this site is set out below). The Committee also gave authorisation to progress a procurement process to secure a development partner for the sites’ redevelopment on 11 December 2024. The Site was proposed for development as a part of the Masterplan. The Masterplan notes that the Seaview Road carpark was underused relative to other carparks in Liscard area and proposes repurposing the carpark and former municipal offices into housing to attract more local residents and better link the site to Liscard Village. The Council adopted its new Local Plan on 31 March 2025. The Local Plan requires 14,400 net additional dwellings in Wirral by 2040. These are all to be delivered on brownfield sites, including the former Liscard Municipal Offices and adjacent carpark. The 2021 Strategic Housing Market Assessment for Wirral, which was a key piece of evidence in developing the Local Plan, states a need for around 700 affordable homes each year borough-wide. Following the introduction of the new Local Plan system in March 2026, the Council published a Notice to Commence work on a new Local Plan and Timetable at the end of June 2026. An initial Scoping Consultation and Call for Sites exercise was concluded in August 2026. The Council is required to publish its Gateway 1 self-assessment by the 31 October 2026. This will trigger the start of the 30-month period envisaged in the new system for preparing and adopting a new Local Plan. The timetable envisages adoption of the new Local Plan in June 2029. The new Local Plan will need to plan for the significantly higher housing numbers introduced by the new Standard Method - 1,622 dwellings per annum - compared with 800 dwellings per annum under the previous approach. It will also need to take account of the new National Planning Policy Framework issued in August 2026 and the emerging Spatial Development Strategy for the Liverpool City Region (LCR), which will be responsible for distribution of future housing growth across the LCR. A new Strategic Housing Market Needs Assessment for Wirral is about to be commissioned which is likely to report in the second quarter of 2027 which will determine the level of affordable housing need which the new local plan will need to plan for. Whilst there is a high need for all types of affordable housing across the Borough, the greatest pressure for the local authority is for rented affordable housing. As of late March 2026, there were over 4,800 households on the housing waiting list, with over 800 of these having the highest priority need. The Council will now be seeking to appoint a preferred developer which can bring skills, experience and expertise in delivering the affordable housing at pace and in line with local housing needs within the Borough.