Birkenhead market management ‘could have been better from the start’

The leader of Wirral Council said the handling of the new Birkenhead Market plans “could have been better from the start”.

The local authority is working on plans for a new market in Birkenhead town from 2019, with a number of different locations proposed. However, the relationship between the council and market traders has soured over the past year following a controversial decision to move the facility to a former Argos site on Princes Pavements.

Traders believe that under these plans, many long-standing businesses will have to close due to lack of trading space. However, despite opposition from traders, a petition and the city’s Labor MP Mick Whitley, the council is pushing ahead with Argos.

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Labor council leader Cllr Paul Stuart, who leads the local authority from May 2023, claimed that engagement with traders had “improved” over the past year, but said: “I think engagement with traders could have been better from the start.”

He added: “I’ve met the traders, I’ve met them on site to walk around with them and hear their views on different sites.

“What it comes down to is we have a limited amount of money and it’s either deliver something or nothing because money comes with a deadline. It may not be what some of the traders want, but I think once it is built where the proposal is, that will give confidence, it will bring a step up for the traders and it will give confidence to the traders that we are in their backs.”

Traders previously told the ECHO that communication with the council had not improved, with some feeling kept in the dark about the criteria Wirral Council will use to select new traders for Argos. As a result, the retailers are looking to go their own way and are developing early plans to move into the former Marks and Spencer store in the city centre.

This was the first option ever considered by the local authority for a new market and proved popular with traders. Asked about this, Cllr Stuart said: “The traders have made it clear in their proposal that they believe it will complement the old Argos site. If that’s how they feel, then great. As for whether a future market can go there, it’s a long way to go. I read their proposals and understood that they need to get a lot of investment.

“If that’s not feasible for them, we still want to work with them to give them something for what they need in the proposed site that we have.”

If a market can be successfully established in Marks and Spencers, its traders’ association said members would move there instead of the Argos site where Wirral Council is investing £8m. This money must be spent by spring 2026.

Asked if the council might reconsider Argos, Cllr Stuart said: “I don’t see the change in terms of where the grant funding has been allocated because of the time sensitivities around it, the business plan and how that site is used.

“If the other site becomes available and the Marks and Spencer site becomes a marketplace with the traders there, that will be a future decision for Pyramids and what we do with that site. At the moment, that (Argos) is the only thing we have and the only thing we can deliver in the time frame required.”

Cllr Stuart’s re-election as council leader on May 22 followed the announcement that voters will go to the polls on July 4 to choose their next MP for the next five years. Current polls suggest that Labor is on course to win the election.

He said: “I hope there will be a change in government and I hope this change in government will bring about a change in priorities. I accept a future government of any color will inherit what they will inherit.

“I’m confident that a new Labor government will restore priorities when they look at the budget,” adding: “I’ll be lobbying a Labor government to prioritize the needs of councils like ours in the budget they have.”

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