People feel an area is looking less neglected as it prepares for major change
People feel an area is looking less neglected as it prepares for major change
“I feel we are in a lovely little village where we know everyone. You walk up the street and say hello to everyone. It’s just a vibe.”
Aine Taylor and her partner got the keys to their Hamilton Square house in December after moving up from the Isle of Wight.
Originally from Ireland, she said: “The next day we went down to the cafe down the road and they just welcomed us like we were long lost family members from the get go.”
She said she had always wanted to be part of a community and loved how friendly people had been in the area, adding: “Being Irish, I just went around saying I am new to the area and introduced myself to all the locals. It’s like another world up here. I am not exaggerating.”
Since moving, Aine has set up shop in art collective Make CIC which is based down the road on Argyle Street. She makes bags for a living out of offcuts from luxury brands as well as hovercrafts.
Since Wirral Council helped fund £51,000 to improve a number of shopfronts on Argyle Street, she said the area was now looking nicer and is excited about the regeneration plans for the area, adding: “When I said we were moving to Birkenhead, everyone was pulling faces. They said “Why would you want to live there?” I thought, “Are we missing something that everyone can see?”
“People said they wouldn’t have walked down Argyle Street 10 years ago and I thought oh my god. I am just excited about the developments that is going on as that can only be a good thing. Any regeneration is good. The businesses seem to be excited about it.
“It definitely seems to be on the up. There’s just a nice positive vibe here. I just think there seems to be a good sense of community.
“There’s lovely places to go, lovely cafes, it’s like a little village. I feel we are in a lovely little village where we know everyone. You walk up the street and say hello to everyone. It’s just a vibe.”
Wirral Council is currently carrying out two public feedback exercises about its plans for historic Hamilton Square and the area around Birkenhead Town Hall. One revolves around plans for parking restrictions, improved pavements, and new cycle lanes while the other is a wider regeneration plan for the area.
Big changes are coming down the line as Wirral Council prepares to invest millions of pounds in the area stretching from Conway Street to the waterfront. Hamilton Square has the most Grade I listed buildings outside of London and is known for Birkenhead Town Hall, its central park, and beautiful buildings.
Long term, the council’s plans look to preserve and improve the square as well as support the wider major regeneration plans for Birkenhead with new developments and housing. By 2027, Wirral Council is planning to invest at least £21m into the waterfront, the square, and Argyle Street.
Proposals put forward by the council include expanded pavements, new crossings, new cycle paths, seating and improvements within the square, small green spaces, new homes, as well as greenery down Argyle Street. A number of car parks could be lost to make way for new developments.
Anthony Poldervaart is a co-founder of Make It Happen, a community organisation and social supermarket based on Market Street. He said the plans for pedestrian crossings would have a big impact on their customers and wanted to make sure they had a say on what happens next.
He said: “They might not be as steady on their feet or have poor hearing or poor eyesight. Making it easier to cross a very busy throughroad will help people I think,” adding slowing traffic could also have other benefits by increasing the visibility of the different shops opening up on the road.
Anthony said people didn’t feel safe crossing the road at the moment. He told the ECHO: “It’s about getting people to spend more time in the area. The more time people spend in the area, the better looked after it will be. Most of the people that we engage with aren’t drivers so they are less concerned about the one way system around Hamilton Square.”
Last month, Anthony along with several other businesses in the area launched the Argyle Creative Quarter. Off the back of the improvements made to shops, they hope to create somewhere to rival the Baltic Triangle by connecting different businesses together and bring more people in.
He said: “People feel more positive about their business. They feel proud about the area, mainly it creates a sense of optimism and positive changes which has been really good.”
Since that launch, Make CIC’s Liam Kelly said they were now advertising a job to promote the area and put forward bids for funding. This will help move their plans to get more businesses into the area forward.
He said: “We are trying to give ourselves the capacity to support anyone to come here to this area and use it as a place to start and sustain a business. There’s been quite a lot of movement in the market.
“It’s already improved and what we want is to bring more investment in so we can build on the work we have done with the shop frontages. We want to make it easier for people to locate here.”
Sharon Nicholson, the CEO of Wirral MenCap, wasn’t aware of the latest plans for the area but said the recent investment was a positive step. While she didn’t feel it was safe at night still, she said: “It’s lovely when you walk along the street and you see it all freshened up. It doesn’t make the place look as neglected. Sometimes it felt neglected but that isn’t the case now.”
She said Hamilton Square was “beautiful and it’s such a shame it’s not been maximised. It’s very positive what they are planning to do. I wouldn’t be saying no don’t do it. It’s getting it back to what it was and probably long overdue.”
To find out more about the changes to the roads around Hamilton Square, Argyle Street, and Woodside, click here. To read more about the plans for the Hamilton Square regeneration area, click here.