£800,000 for Birkenhead's Duke Street: What's Planned and Where the Money Goes

If you walk, cycle or drive along Duke Street in Birkenhead, do not expect diggers soon. Wirral Council approved £800,000 for the street on 16 October 2026, but the money pays for designs, costings and a business case, not building work.

The council's own report puts construction at between £3 million and £8 million. That money has not been secured. Here is what the decision covers, where each part of the £800,000 goes and what has to happen before anything changes on the ground.

What Wirral Council decided

The decision was made by Wirral's Chief Executive under powers delegated by the Economy, Regeneration and Housing Committee on 29 June 2026. The published decision notice approves four things:

1. adding the Duke Street Public Realm Project to the council's Local Regeneration Fund portfolio
2. allocating £800,000 from that fund to Phase 1
3. directly awarding the project and cost management contract to Turner & Townsend through the ESPO framework
4. starting a tender for a design consultant, chosen on the most economically advantageous bid, to take the scheme to RIBA Stage 4

It is a key decision because the allocation is over £500,000. The officer report says the Chair and party spokespersons of the committee were consulted and supported it. The wards most affected are Bidston and St James, and Claughton.

Where the £800,000 goes

The report lists three uses for the money:

• project management and cost management support
• appointing a multidisciplinary design team
• business case development for capital funding, fees and contingency

A budget for internal council staff costs also sits within the £800,000. The only fixed figure published so far is the Turner & Townsend contract, at an estimated £147,510 plus VAT over 18 months. The design consultant's fee will be set by the tender, and the report says that appointment will be a later officer decision.

Project and cost managers are standard on public schemes of this size. Their job here is to run the design process, keep the cost plan honest as the design develops and hit the March 2028 deadline. Whether £147,510 is good value will depend on what the design work delivers and whether the scheme is built.

What Phase 1 includes

Phase 1 is paperwork that makes the scheme ready to build: a tender-ready design, a cost plan, a delivery programme and what the report calls a Gateway 2 business case. The detailed design will go back to a council committee for approval, and the report says public engagement is built into the programme.

The design is meant to:

• support businesses with better public realm, lighting and safety
• improve crossings so there is a continuous route between Birkenhead Park station, Birkenhead Park, Wirral Waters and local landmarks
• provide safe, direct cycle routes on the street and secure cycle parking
• make simple improvements to the interchange outside Birkenhead Park station

The report says sustainable drainage and other environmental features will be considered during design. No drawings have been published yet.

Why the money is split in two

The deadline drives it. Local Regeneration Fund money has to be spent by March 2028, and the council estimates that taking the design to RIBA Stage 4 and getting committee sign-off will take 18 months. There is not time to design and build within the fund.

The council considered putting in a larger sum to cover construction but rejected it, because the design and costs are not developed enough "to demonstrate the best use of public funding". It also rejected doing nothing, which it said could lose the chance to use the fund for Duke Street.

For construction, the council is in talks with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority about including Duke Street in its 2027 to 2032 transport capital programme. A report on that allocation is due at the council's Policy and Resources Committee. The report is open about the risk: the scheme "may not proceed beyond design" if construction funding is not secured, and costs could rise as the design develops.

How Duke Street fits into Birkenhead's regeneration

Duke Street runs north to south between Birkenhead Park and the docks. The council's Cleveland Street Neighbourhood Masterplan, approved in July 2024, treats it as a key corridor between Birkenhead Park, the Cleveland Street area and Wirral Waters, and wants to strengthen its role as a high street.

It is also on Wirral's Core Active Travel Network, which drew 1,130 consultation responses in summer 2024. The report links the street to new homes at Wirral Waters, including Millers Quay, and to Birkenhead Park station on the Merseyrail Wirral Line. An earlier Duke Street active travel scheme, with crossings and cycle lanes, went to the council's environment and transport committee in June 2025.

What happens next

• By 21 October 2026: call-in window closes.
• 22 October 2026: decision takes effect if not called in. Turner & Townsend can be appointed and the design tender launched.
• During design: public engagement on the proposals, then committee approval of the detailed design.
• By March 2028: RIBA Stage 4 design, cost plan and business case complete.
• After that: construction only if £3m to £8m is found, most likely through the Combined Authority's Gateway Assurance process.

If you live or run a business on Duke Street, watch for the engagement stage, because that is when the layout of crossings, cycle lanes and parking will be up for comment. The decision and report are on Wirral Council's democracy site. For other Wirral changes this month, see our guide to the Wirral bus changes from 25 October.