Side-Lined by the Sea: How New Brighton Got Left Out of Wirral’s Regeneration Agenda
- Rory
- Jun 10
- 10 min read
Updated: Jun 12
✍️ Author’s Note
This article is based on a close reading of 40+ official Wirral Council committee minutes (2020–2025), alongside the published Marine Promenade Masterplan for New Brighton. AI-assisted tools were used to parse documents and surface key references, but all conclusions, interpretations and views expressed are my own.
This article does not accuse individuals of wrongdoing. It questions structural decision-making, transparency, and political prioritisation across regeneration planning.
— Rory Wilmer, New Brighton, June 2025
Updated 15:45 10.06.2025 📜 Disclaimer: Imperfect by Design
This article is based solely on Wirral Council’s official committee minutes and publicly available supporting documents from 2020–2025. That’s it. There is no open dataset. No clear voting records. No searchable transparency portal to trace decisions or hold anyone meaningfully accountable.
So yes—there will be gaps. Possibly mistakes. And that’s the point.
If the minutes fail to accurately reflect how decisions were made, who voted, or what really happened behind closed doors, that is not my failing as a citizen. It is a failing of the council’s documentation process and commitment to transparency.
Democracy depends on public scrutiny. But when the only route to understanding local governance is to manually trawl through thousands of pages of jargon-heavy PDFs—without consistent structure, indexing, or traceable outcomes—then the system is not just opaque. It’s broken by design.
So read this with a critical eye. And then ask yourself: why is it this difficult to understand what’s being done in our name?
A Seaside Story of Boom, Bust, and Belief
New Brighton’s history is one of grand visions, broken promises, and grassroots reinvention. Once home to Europe’s largest outdoor lido and a magnet for day-trippers crossing the Mersey, it thrived with arcades, theatres, and the iconic Tower Grounds. But by the 1990s, the great lido was gone—demolished after years of underinvestment and neglect. One by one, its major attractions disappeared.
The decades that followed were littered with far-fetched regeneration fantasies: a £150M “Ocean Dome” project, a Disneyland-style theme park, and a ludicrous Poseidon statue rising from the sea, reachable by an undersea tunnel. None materialised. Meanwhile, the core of New Brighton faded into disrepair.
Things finally changed in the early 2010s, when the £80 million Marine Point development was unveiled. Championed by then-regeneration lead Cllr Pat Hackett, it brought chain-led investment to the seafront: The Light Cinema, Morrison’s, A Travel Lodge, Prezzo, Home Bargains, Costa, Nando’s, Starbucks, Burger King, and Greggs (or at least that's what we're left with today).
The Floral Pavilion Theatre was refurbished at a cost of £11.1 million. A casino did open—briefly—but closed soon after. Several of the units, including those between the chains, have remained empty for years. A sailing school was promised on the Marine Lake, but never materialised—costing local taxpayers £72,600 in failed preparatory costs. And the Floral Pavilion now runs at a multi-million-pound annual loss, propped up by public subsidy.
This wasn’t regeneration—it was commercial franchising. And while it gave New Brighton modern amenities, it failed to offer a sense of place, permanence, or creativity.
That came later.
Since 2018, a different kind of regeneration has taken root—not from the council chambers, but from the streets. Rockpoint Leisure, a private place-making company, began to reimagine the once-forgotten Victoria Road. Through art, music, indie businesses, and cultural identity, they transformed the area into a nationally recognised creative hub. Their work was praised by the House of Lords Select Committee on Regenerating Seaside Towns as a “national and international example of grassroots-led regeneration.”
But this isn’t the only example of local commitment. For decades, the Wilkie family have run New Brighton’s classic amusements and mini funfair—a pillar of traditional seaside life. From arcade machines to waltzers, the Wilkies’ family-run operation has quietly upheld the nostalgic experience that continues to draw generations of Merseyside families.
And just across the road, Fort Perch Rock—despite being denied serious investment—has hosted a revolving programme of pop-up exhibitions, live events, vintage fairs, and cultural curiosities. Though often short-term, these initiatives have provided a platform for local creatives and small businesses, filling the void left by failed civic ambitions.
Then there’s the Black Pearl—a full-sized pirate ship sculpted from driftwood by local volunteers on the beach at Cosy Cove. Built in 2013, it became a symbol of community creativity and resilience, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors. Its Facebook page, which I helped create and trained Sue and Major to run, achieved a weekly reach of over 1 million people. Despite its popularity, the Black Pearl faced challenges due to council inaction and bureaucracy, leading to its eventual decline.
Now, in 2025, the council proposes a new attraction: a massive Viking longship sculpture at the Tower Grounds. This 30-metre-long, 20-metre-high illuminated structure is intended to be visible from Liverpool and attract tourists. However, many see this as detached from the community spirit that the Black Pearl embodied, and a missed opportunity to support grassroots initiatives.
And yet—despite the national praise, rising visitor numbers, and a clear appetite for a new kind of coastal economy—New Brighton has remained strangely sidelined by Wirral Council.
The Council’s Marine Promenade Masterplan, approved in 2021, laid out a bold vision to build on this momentum. But the official minutes and policy decisions that followed tell a different story—one of delay, deferral, and quiet deprioritisation.
🗺️ A Vision Ignored
New Brighton’s Marine Promenade Masterplan was developed in good faith and based on sound strategic thinking. It set out an approach that balanced heritage, seafront character, active travel, and economic growth. The consultation showed strong public support. Local businesses, most notably Rockpoint Leisure, had already begun to deliver results—earning praise from the House of Lords Select Committee on Regeneration and Coastal Towns, who cited it as a national case study for bottom-up transformation.
And yet, this momentum was never matched by the council. Instead, Birkenhead took centre stage. Meeting after meeting. Minute after minute. Even when Birkenhead projects stalled, slipped, or disappeared into consultation black holes—
New Brighton was barely mentioned.
📍 What Is the Marine Promenade Masterplan?
Published to fulfil Local Plan obligations, the Marine Promenade Masterplan envisions:
A car-free leisure strip with wide promenades and cafes
Three new hotels
A floating lido and new public spaces
Over 300 homes
Mixed-use commercial and hospitality developments
But the catch? The Council admitted that without private backing, the plan has no delivery route or dedicated budget.
"New Brighton has been let down by this Masterplan." — Public comment, Economy & Regeneration Committee, 6 Dec 2023
🧾 The Timeline: What the Minutes Tell Us
Below is a timeline of key moments when New Brighton appeared in the Economy, Regeneration & Housing Committee records:
Total mentions in five years of regeneration minutes: One clear item, zero progress.
Date | Document Type | Mention of New Brighton | Action Taken | Notes |
29 Sep 2021 | Public reports pack | Marine Promenade Masterplan formally introduced. | Plan approved for development and consultation. | Key milestone. One of very few direct mentions. |
26 Jan 2022 | Minutes | No follow-up on Marine Masterplan. | None. | Birkenhead dominates agenda. |
Throughout 2022 | Multiple meeting packs | Regeneration updates mention "coastal" but not by name. | Projects remain Birkenhead-centric. | New Brighton missing in strategy and investment. |
2023 | Meeting reports | Birkenhead continues to dominate—Grange, Europa Pools, Hind Street. | No public updates on New Brighton. | Momentum stalls. |
20 June 2023 | Supplementary questions | Public questions about other areas, but not New Brighton. | Officer responses only. | Public voice ignored. |
2024–2025 | No specific references | No further visible discussion of Marine Promenade Masterplan. | No budget line, tracking or update. | Plan remains shelved. |
Compare this to Birkenhead, where the Market, Hind Street, Peel’s Wirral Waters, and Grange Precinct were revisited at nearly every meeting—even if nothing got built.
⚖️ Birkenhead vs New Brighton: Unequal Attention
Across the same period, Birkenhead projects dominate the agenda:
Project | Total Mentions (2020–2025) | Action Taken |
Birkenhead Market | 17+ | Repeated proposals, relocations, retractions |
Hind Street Village | 9 | Planning stages ongoing since 2021 |
Grange Precinct / Europa Pools | 10+ | Town Deal-funded—progress unclear |
Wirral Waters (Peel) | 20+ | Framework realignment, little delivery |
Meanwhile, New Brighton is referenced fewer than five times in the same period—and mostly in public questions, not formal motions.
This stark imbalance shows the geographic skew in Wirral’s regeneration policy: vast ambition in Birkenhead, but minimal execution—and even less space for other towns to thrive.
🎨 Left Bank in Name Only?
It’s worth remembering that the Council’s own regeneration messaging—especially under the Labour group—has frequently referred to a vision for Wirral’s “Left Bank.” This was intended to evoke a cultural renaissance akin to Paris’s Left Bank: creative, bohemian, independent, and full of life.
But if any part of Wirral already reflects that ethos, it’s not Birkenhead. It’s New Brighton.
Along Victoria Road, Rockpoint Leisure has spent years cultivating exactly the kind of street-level energy and grassroots-led culture that “Left Bank” branding aspires to. Through independent venues, music, murals, and a focus on creative enterprise, it has delivered the very renaissance that the council talks about—but has not materially supported. The irony? The actual “Left Bank” energy already exists. It just doesn’t appear to be politically convenient.
Former Leader of Wirral Council, Cllr Paul Stuart, Former Chair of the Economy, Regeneration and Housing Committee Cllr. Tony Jones and Former Director of Regeneration and Place Dave Hughes talk about some of the exciting developments taking place across the borough. 238 views 24 Jul 2024
🏖️ What Could Have Been: Rockpoint & the Community Model
The Marine Promenade Masterplan was never just another document. It was built around place-based regeneration, with clear links to existing investment and success stories—especially Rockpoint’s independently-led revitalisation of Victoria Road. Yet despite this acclaim, the council minutes remain silent.
No new funding attached to the plan.
No strategic prioritisation.
No response to national praise.
🧭 Representation Without Delivery?
One of the most striking contradictions in this story is that New Brighton had a direct seat at the regeneration table—yet little to show for it.
For several years, Cllr Tony Jones, Labour councillor for New Brighton, served as Chair of the Economy, Regeneration & Housing Committee. On paper, this positioned him to be a strong advocate for the town—especially as the Marine Promenade Masterplan was introduced.
Yet under his watch:
The masterplan was approved but never progressed.
No funding was secured.
Public feedback was noted but rarely acted upon.
Birkenhead projects dominated the agenda, regardless of delays or results.
To be fair, Wirral’s regeneration strategy has been beset by instability, with frequent turnover among senior directors. But that only made the role of consistent local political leadership more vital—something New Brighton did not appear to benefit from.
In May 2025, following a change in Labour leadership and a pledge to overhaul stalled regeneration plans, Cllr Paula Basnett removed Cllr Jones as Chair. His replacement comes with a business-oriented mandate and a promise of “no more excuses.”
And now, for the first time in years, another New Brighton councillor—Cllr Paul Martin—has taken a seat on the committee.
Whether he will actively advocate for the town’s long-stalled masterplan, or challenge the structural imbalance that has sidelined New Brighton in favour of faltering Birkenhead schemes, remains to be seen.
But for residents and businesses waiting on real delivery, the message is clear: representation only matters if it delivers results.
🧿 Regeneration, With or Without the Council
Perhaps the most telling part of this story is that New Brighton is regenerating anyway.
While committee chairs change and masterplans gather dust, local businesses and cultural leaders have quietly delivered what the council hasn’t: energy, investment, and vision.
The Marine Promenade Masterplan, officially approved in 2021, remains untracked and unfunded. But just up the hill, Rockpoint Leisure continues to transform the Victoria Quarter into a thriving cultural and hospitality destination—without much, if any, council support.
And the momentum keeps building.
In late 2024, Liverpool music and culture legend Jayne Casey—a driving force behind the Baltic Triangle and Cream—opened District House on Victoria Road. The venue, co-run with Eric Gooden, has quickly become one of the coolest hotspots on the coast, offering food, art, live vinyl sets, and a creative refuge that already feels iconic.
Jayne’s decision to invest in New Brighton isn’t just nostalgic—it’s strategic. As she put it:
“New Brighton was such a great place to run away to as a teen... I now want to give back to the town that gave to me.”
And on the wider vision:
“It reminds me of The Baltic Triangle movement when we took back the buildings from the big banks and corporations and made it an independently owned creative district. I admire what Dan Davies has done here—it’s a triumph for creativity.”
That’s the line in the sand. The regeneration of New Brighton is real, tangible, and ongoing. But it’s despite previous council leadership, not because of it.
🔚 A Coastal Town That’s Kept Going Without Them
New Brighton has never lacked ambition. It’s lacked representation.
Despite decades of regeneration promises, despite glossy masterplans and consultation exercises, our town has too often been left in the waiting room while attention—and budget—gravitates towards Birkenhead. And the record is clear: our own local councillors have sat at the heart of regeneration decision-making for years, including holding the chair of the very committee responsible. Yet the big ideas that could have unlocked New Brighton’s full potential have repeatedly stalled, faded, or been buried in bureaucracy.
Meanwhile, the real work has been happening without them.
Independent businesses, cultural leaders, and investors have kept the momentum alive. Rockpoint Leisure’s transformation of the Victoria Quarter is now nationally recognised. Jayne Casey’s return to New Brighton, decades after her rebellious teenage escape to this seaside town, is more than symbolic—it’s a statement of belief in what this place can be.
But belief isn’t enough. It’s time our local politics caught up with the people and businesses shaping the town’s future.
Perhaps what New Brighton needs next isn’t another masterplan—but independent voices who will actually fight for delivery. Councillors who won’t be content to sit through another cycle of missed opportunities, warm words, and deferred decisions. Representatives with the vision and tenacity to match the ambition already rising on our streets.
With new council leadership now in place—and with Cllr Paula Basnett bringing a business-focused background from the Wirral Chamber of Commerce—there’s a chance, just maybe, for things to change. A chance for regeneration to finally mean something tangible for our part of the Wirral.
But if that doesn’t come from the top, New Brighton might just do what it’s always done: keep moving, with or without the council.
📜 Transparency Statement
This article is based on Wirral Council minutes and masterplans (2020–2025), supplemented by AI-assisted document analysis. All opinions are my own. No councillor or officer is accused of misconduct. The intent is to support transparency, public awareness, and effective regeneration for all Wirral communities.
Given the fragmented and inconsistent nature of publicly available records, some errors or omissions may occur. If you spot something inaccurate or can help clarify the record, I’m happy to update and correct it publicly. Please feel free to contact me directly.
Because if we can’t talk openly—and correct our course—how can we ever move forward?
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