I feel a sense of frustration and elation in equal measures today. On the one hand, Wirral Council constantly complain about the raw deal they get from |central Government, and their efforts to close a £46m black hole in their finances. On the other hand, they are gaining substantial funding for cycle paths, regeneration projects and park landscaping, all geared to making 'the shed' as Birkenhead is referred to, as a more pleasant place to visit.
I have no sympathy for the mismanagement of funds, something the Labour controlled council has struggled with for years. It is in their culture to spend money they do not have, and with little possibility of a change of control at local level people will just have to get on with it .
Getting tens of millions of pounds in grants for inner city transformation projects though is nothing but great news. The only caveat being whether these projects will see the light of day.
One such project, with a 15 year delivery time is the 'low line' as I call it. It is a disused railway line regeneration to link a new housing village with the centre of Birkenhead, and today SWMBO and I were in an elite group who walked the route.
Those of you who have visited the 'high line' in New York will be able to visualise how the 'low line might look, but there is a huge amount of work to be done. Birkenhead has a very imaginative rough sleeping community who see these railway cuttings as home, the amount of fly tipping material is excessive, and the overall infrastructure is surrounded by industrial sites and waste land which will need as much regeneration as the railway cutting itself.
It would be ironic if the 'low line' could be modelled on the 'high line' given that Birkenhead Park provided the influence for Central Park in New York, a bit of payback....
It will be great if it comes to fruition, and if it can be a 24 x7 access for people. There are already plans to have music venues and museums as part of the route.I only hope some of it becomes live during my lifetime.
Other projects within the Birkenhead master plan seem to be less well thought out. There seem to be cycle routes being developed for the sake of it, and motorists being sidelined as a result, and there is still the challenge how to knit retail and leisure units together in one area so that people can visit in the evening and find things to do instead of them becoming ghost streets after 6pm.
Watch this space and lets see what turns up in the future
