19 August 2010
New Brighton Public Realm set to dazzle Wirral’s
waterfront
A special ceremony took place along the newly re-vamped New
Brighton waterfront yesterday to mark the completion of Neptune’s
public realm works.
After years of decay New Brighton once again has a waterfront it
can be proud of with a new model boating lake and car park, a new
promenade, improved seating and lighting and to complement the
refurbishment - the Marine Lake has been drained, refurbished
and re-filled.
The 14 hectare public realm seafront area was ‘handed back’ to
Wirral Borough Council in a short ceremony attended by Rob Mason,
Development Director at Neptune Developments, Jeff Green,
Leader of Wirral Council, Richard Tracey, Head of
Environmental Quality at the Northwest Regional Development Agency
(NWDA) and Ian Marsh, Regional Director at Bowmer & Kirkland
Ltd.
Work began on site last January and has taken seven months to
complete. The scheme has benefited from a £3.9 million
investment by NWDA which has enabled Neptune to take forward Phase
2 of the development which will deliver a mixed use development
along the waterfront including a range of new retail and leisure
amenities.
This work is expected to be completed in 2011 and Neptune have
already received encouraging interest from both local and national
retail and leisure operators with whom they are in discussions
about taking space in the second phase.
Rob Mason, Development Director at Neptune Developments,
said: “We are delighted to hand back the completed public
realm area to the New Brighton community and to have been at the
forefront of facilitating such a transformation of the seafront
landscape.
“The completion of this scheme complements the work we have
already done with the £11m new Floral Pavilion theatre and
conference centre. We are now looking forward to progressing with
rest of Phase 2 of the planned improvements for New
Brighton.”
Richard Tracey, Head of Environmental Quality, NWDA said: “I
am delighted to see first hand the largest single transformation
project in the wider Mersey Waterfront Regional Park initiative
come to fruition. With Agency funding, New Brighton will create new
jobs for the area, attract investment and increase visitor numbers,
as well as creating a high quality and attractive waterfront
environment.”
Leader of Wirral Council, Cllr Jeff Green said: "It's been a
long road to get to this point, but I am delighted that we are now
seeing the benefits start to come through. Following on from
the new Floral Pavilion, we are now seeing the new boating lake and
public open space take shape.
"Neptune have done a tremendous amount of public consultation
throughout the whole process and are clearly as committed to the
future of New Brighton as we are. This is a great example of
public and private sector partnership working at its best."
Ian Marsh of Bowmer & Kirkland said: “Bowmer & Kirkland
are delighted to be involved in the re-development of New Brighton
waterfront. The first handover is a proud milestone in the
construction of this exciting project. We have established good
working relationships with Wirral MBC and Neptune and have enjoyed
the support and engagement with the local community.“
Ends
Notes to editors: A photocall is taking place at Marine Lake on
New Brighton waterfront today Wednesday 18th August at 4.30pm.
Images will be taken at the event & forwarded to media.
For further information please contact: Paul Cook@ Aurora Media
Ltd on 0151 707 7708 or paul@auroramedialtd.com