Feb 13 2012 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Echo

A SCHEME to invest £7m and create 66 new jobs by expanding a Wirral retail park looks set to be blocked by council planners.

The owners of the Croft retail park in Bromborough want to add new shops, restaurants and remodel the cinema to improve the popular retail and leisure centre.

But Wirral Council planners fear that the plans will jeopardise Birkenhead town centre’s role as the borough’s main shopping centre.

Planning officials also say the scheme by the Croft’s owners, the Universities Superannuation Scheme Ltd (USS), would result in the loss of the ten-pin bowling alley from the retail and leisure park.

Now a report to the council’s planning committee, which meets this week, recommends the plans be turned down.

A report by planning officers said the plan is recommended for refusal due to the loss of the indoor bowl sport and “the potential impact on investment and harm to the prospects for regeneration and employment within Birkenhead”.

The report says the plans would force the bowling alley to move off the leisure area of the Croft but USS has said this move could allow it to have a “sustainable future in Bromborough” as rents would be lower elsewhere.

USS’s fund manager for retail and leisure, Fergus Egan, said since USS bought the park in 1998 it has invested more than £24m and created more than 250 new jobs there.

Mr Egan said: “The park now employs nearly 1,000 people, excluding ASDA, which is not owned by USS.

“This proposal would build on previous investment and modernisation and demonstrates USS's longstanding commitment to Bromborough.

“This £7 million investment would create around 66 new jobs, help to secure the future of a bowling facility in Bromborough, modernise the Odeon cinema, and secure a vibrant leisure section at the Park where there would also be a new family-oriented restaurant.

“The investment would also bring forward improvements for pedestrian, cycle and disabled access.”

Nowhere can I see they have any plans to allow Pound shops to open, so how can it be a threat to Birkenhead???

Bit late in fearing it would "jeopardise Birkenhead town centre’s role as the borough’s main shopping centre", about 10 years too late even Croft retail is late updating and that place is always too busy to be worth going too unless you go during the week, Wirral shopping has been destroyed by old council fogies who's only interest is keeping parking charges way beyond what's needed to get everyone motivated into going to Birkenhead or Liscard, if you have a car and want to even try to get to the local shops, yellow lines and crossings and every other piece of street furniture prevents you from stopping and I consider even though I live in Heswall, local shops I include is Liscard and anywhere I am in Wirral, please don't use road safety as an excuse, I sometimes think a lot of people seem to have shares in traffic lights and road marking companies.

News posts must have link to source.

ouch.

Wow, who is on the council????

Birkenhead would have fallen donkies ago if it wasn't for the huge cash injection from ASDA would bought that land at at steal.

I have been away from birkenhead for sometime and last week I was there so I popped into townfor a nose. The place has died a terrible death, computer hame shops, pound shops, cash generator and pawn brokers galore which to me equals going down the pan.

Birkenhead town centre is the pits.

I'd love to see the place flattened, it's had it's day.

It's because all the retail businesses are relocating on greenfield sites and out of town sites that the town centre is goosed. e.g. Bidston Tesco is only suitable if you have transport, I saw an old dear yesterday with a pull along trolley and she's having a hell of a job negotiating the roundabout and the traffic and she looked totally bemused. Got the idea that she was trying to get to the North End, it's not far to walk if you are fit but there's obviously pedestrian access improvement needed up there for those who haven't got a car. The Council are probably right but only if they buck up on sorting out the mess in town. Craft retail is ok if you have a car too but pretty duff if you haven't,transport infrastructure all wrong.

http://www.wirralnews.co.uk/wirral-...s-and-restaurants-scheme-80491-30328995/

Apologies your honour - wasn't aware of that rule about new post linking to source.

I would like the streets cleaned of endless piles of human and dog poop thats not going to happen either is it?
Streetscene and environmenatl health say they wont come out and clean it so who does if the owners of this mess wont?

I have to agree that apart form one or two stalls in the market B'head is a bit of a failure as a town centre BUT... do these schemes really create X number of jobs or jet move them form one place to another.... ok so the builders will have some temporary work but I'm not convinced the figures they quote for jobs created are anything like reality....