'This is democracy, but only if you agree with us'

BIRKENHEAD Market traders feel they are being ignored as relations continue to sour with Wirral Council.

- 

Wirral plans to relocate Birkenhead Market and invest £12million into the former Argos on Princes Pavements, a regeneration project that has been controversial since it was revealed by the ECHO in September 2023.

Leaked emails later suggested original plans had been scrapped months earlier by council officers. The local authority said those plans could not go ahead due to cost, but market traders have continued to oppose any move to Argos, believing it to be too small and out of the way. Despite their opposition, the council moved ahead with the former Argos plans in March 2024.

Since then, the council asked for public feedback; expected costs for the project have gone from £8m to £12m, and this week a new substation was approved.

Seddon Construction was appointed in March to move the scheme forward and, in April, the council issued a call for businesses to help with the project. The new market is expected to be complete in just over a year, after which the existing one will be demolished.

Two recent Information Commissioner's Office decisions have caused further headaches.