Pride in Place - the COMMUNITY PLACE PLAN

Chair’s Reflections
Introduction
Framework
Levering Change
Acknowledgements

ITV News Filming the Place Plan at MAKE

Chair’s Reflections…

Most of us do not think about how the towns we live in are shaped, or
how they shape us. Politics, planning, competing priorities can feel distant from everyday life, yet urban regeneration touches us all. It influences how we feel about where we live, how we connect with
others, and how hopeful we are about the future. That is why genuine community leadership matters.

Real change does not come from top down; it grows from honest conversations and shared experiences. This conversation about Birkenhead’s future was supported by Wirral Council and the GroundsWell Consortium, but it was not driven by any funding bid. That independence makes the outcomes truly authentic, created by local people, for local people.

We began with a simple question during a group walk through Birkenhead: “what does Birkenhead feel like to you?” From that came conversations about what makes a good town and what creates a sense of belonging. We asked: “what could we do here, in Birkenhead, to make that happen?”

Over the past year, hundreds of people from every walk of life have shared their ideas. There were no fixed plans, just open discussions about the future people want. Those chats in cafés, on park benches, in meeting rooms and online have built something special: trust, connection, and shared purpose.

As ideas emerged, the bigger picture became clear. Threads of economic growth with social wellbeing; creativity with culture; old with new; big landscapes with the close-knit streets, wove together into a
single tapestry: the Birkenhead Place Plan.

This plan is a living expression of community hopes and imagination. Mentoring this process has been absorbing, demanding, and deeply rewarding. The Backin’ Birkenhead movement has shown the passion
and creativity already alive in this community. To everyone who shared their stories, ideas, and encouragement: thank you. Your voices have created something powerful. Now, the next step is yours.

Keep the conversations going.

Keep leading together.

Keep the aspiration high.

Keep shaping the Birkenhead you want to see.

Graham Marshall – Chair Mentor

Prosocial Place

Introduction – a practical tool for change…

This Place Plan presents a co-designed framework that coordinates purposeful, collective action. Built on
hundreds of conversations, it puts local voices at the centre of change, aligning priorities and guiding
projects that will deliver real impact.

Backin’ Birkenhead represents more than regeneration. It is about
care, belonging, identity, and hope. This community movement
embodies local values, needs, and aspirations through an approach
designed to stimulate ‘Pride in Place’. The framework will:

Maintain focus on improving community wellbeing: addressing what matters most.
Direct action toward shared goals: clear priorities, not vague aspirations.
Enable collaboration across sectors and communities: breaking silos and building partnerships.
Turn ideas into impact through coordinated projects: from concept to delivery.

The Place Plan marks the start of a shared journey, with regeneration powered by local people. It protects Birkenhead’s social and cultural fabric while driving a successful and inclusive future. This is about doing things with purpose. Not waiting for change but making it happen.

Only the community will put the heart back in Birkenhead. You ca get involved by:

Joining or creating an Action Group.
Contributing ideas at community discussion.
Volunteering for projects.
Helping shape the Birkenhead you want to see.
Or just spreading a positive word or two for now.

This is your town, your plan, your opportunity to act. All you need is
enthusiasm and a love for Birkenhead.

Speech bubbles showing various positive ideas

Framework – Purpose & Focus…

Community wellbeing sits at the heart of the government’s place-based policy agenda. Our Place Plan responds with twenty-one threads that reflect community priorities and aspirations. These cluster into five
thematic levers that together represent the ‘Determinants of Community Wellbeing’ here in Birkenhead.

Supporting Socio-Economic Progress

Promoting circular and social economies so that resources and skills stay in the community.
Creating good jobs, local businesses, and remaining affordable

Encouraging Creativity, Culture & Identity

Celebrating Birkenhead’s character and creative talent
through festivals, public art, and new cultural spaces.
Supporting local artists and makers.

Delivering a Healthy Town

Promoting wellbeing through active design, healthy environments, and supportive community spaces.
Making space for children’s play, sports, community gardening, and safe recreation.

Promoting Quality Townscape & Architecture

Using the town’s heritage as a foundation for coherent, characterful development.
Creating high-quality homes, shopfronts, streetscapes, and spaces.

Enabling Social Stewardship & Development

Building a caring town where everyone has a role in looking after community facilities, public spaces, and each other.
Tackling loneliness, improving safety, and creating intergenerational connections.

To deliver meaningful change, these levers and threads must work in combination, not in isolation. Projects should be assessed against these determinants of community wellbeing to ensure they contribute to the big picture. Together, they form a practical framework that reflects real community needs and aspirations.

Lasting regeneration will only succeed if everyone works collaboratively, maintaining wellbeing as the golden thread running through every priority and next step. This integrated approach will drive a
programme of projects delivered by many hands, turning ideas into action.

Central Birkenhead’s unique urban fabric provides the foundation for this transformation, supported by its strategic location, natural assets, and transport links. Woven together, these efforts will create a socially,
environmentally, and economically sustainable future, anchored in a shared sense of place and purpose.

Framework – Levers and Threads…

Framework – Levering Socio-Economic Progress…

Our focus is on building a sustainable social economy that supports a diverse community across all stages
of life. This includes access to meaningful jobs, continuous learning and skills development, affordable
living, essential goods and services, and a thriving business environment.

Realising Potential & Opportunity

Birkenhead’s Georgian New Town grid has remained remarkably intact for over two hundred years, providing a valuable and adaptable foundation that will support the regeneration of surrounding areas today. Its quality makes it rich with potential, offering a unique opportunity to re-establish this as a
contemporary ‘New Town’.

This potential will be realised through the implementation of a comprehensive strategy that does not settle for second-best or short-term “quick wins” that undervalue Birkenhead’s prized assets.

We can learn from other places, but we cannot copy them. Change is a process unique to each place and all new projects should build on the town’s inherent strengths to grow a sustainable investment environment, while safeguarding opportunities for the future.

Championing the Social Economy

There are many well connected organisations supporting communities of significant need here. However, these organisations can be fragile, with regeneration presenting both opportunity and threat. If ‘gentrification’ follows, they may be priced out of the area. Securely anchoring them in Birkenhead,
while maintaining their adaptability, is essential.

Traditionally, social infrastructure has been viewed primarily in terms of facilities, often individual buildings. In reality, the entire town functions as social infrastructure. To reflect this broader perspective, we could establish a Community Improvement District (CID) to coordinate investment across the whole area. This approach would also create a structured way to channel Social Value contributions effectively.

Activating a Circular Economy

Birkenhead has the potential to support a circular economy that can deliver meaningful employment. This will reduce waste, increase values, grow local wealth, and strengthen bonds in the local community. Connecting to the 360 Degree Society should be considered to encourage joined- up learning with other Well North initiatives.

A substantial volume of the built fabric is in underused ‘employment uses’ which would benefit from being intensified and re-imagined through the creation of mixed-use and live-work neighbourhoods. Doughnut
Economics offers a model for Backin’ Birkenhead to consider.

Framework – Levering Socio-Economic Progress…

Supporting Future-Ready Communities

Circular economy principles include education, training, and mentoring, which will respond to Birkenhead’s emerging opportunities, and provide life opportunities to existing communities, especially the young.

C-Change Schools already support young people on the Wirral and Wirral Met College oversees the transition to adulthood in Birkenhead. Wirral Chamber of Commerce offers business support and training to new and existing businesses and communities. Backin’ Birkenhead could consider a visit to Morecambe Bay Curriculum – Lancaster University and to learn from the community wealth building approach of the Preston Model.

Growing Diverse & Stable Communities

Wirral Council aims to grow Birkenhead’s residential population through sensitive intensification of existing neighbourhoods and the redevelopment of former industrial sites like the Borough Yard gas works and the Wirral Waters docklands. There is scope for residential intensification within the grid too.

Growing a diverse and stable community in central Birkenhead is a critical goal and, seamlessly connecting these neighbourhoods and sites, will maximise the choice of homes, facilities, services, and amenities for all.

This connectivity is vital for projects such as Wirral Waters and Borough Yard because without a thriving town centre, these new communities risk isolation. Over the next decade, all regeneration efforts must work
together to foster a shared identity and a true sense of one town.

Staying Affordable & Inclusive

To prevent gentrification, Birkenhead must stay affordable and strengthen residents’ economic capacity through living wage pledges and access to better-quality jobs.

Affordability should never mean inferior quality, especially in housing. A supply of affordable, fit-for-purpose homes with mixed tenure is essential, guided by local needs and neighbourhood changes. This opens the door for direct community-led development through cooperatives, Community Land Trusts, and Development Trusts.

Learning from Make it Happen and Worn By Us, affordable food and clothing outlets can spread and diversify. Under-used spaces in central Birkenhead’s offer opportunities for community food growing, which can activate the area and support wellbeing. A Time Banking system could enable people to exchange services without financial strain.

Framework – Levering Socio-Economic Progress…

Living High Streets

The Northern Ireland Living High Streets initiative notes that:

“Traditionally, people lived their entire lives in and around high streets as a matter of choice. Evidence continues to show that people benefit from living close to essential amenities and services that only urban
centres can offer, including the opportunity to meet easily and connect with others as neighbours. This is especially true for older and more vulnerable residents.”

There are existing and potential new ‘high streets’ within the Laird Grid that can link and strengthen neighbourhoods and diverse communities: Argyle, Market, Duke, Watson, and Chester Streets. These streets present an opportunity to take a fresh approach to promoting, sustaining, and advancing economic and social activity within neighbourhoods.

MAKE CIC with Power to Change have begun a High Streets Innovators programme to create a sustainable foundation. The programme emphasises “different models for community involvement over their high
streets….to avoid extractive town centre regeneration.”

Going Places & Doing Things

Birkenhead already has some great places to go to, but they are poorly connected and there needs to be more of them spread through the Grid. Opportunities to bring the town to life through experimental and
temporary ideas will strengthen the local economy and enhance community wellbeing.

Pop-up uses of buildings and spaces, festivals like Art After Dark, and diverse themed street markets can all improve Birkenhead’s image, draw people into town life, and create a safe, welcoming environment. These activities can also be powerful first steps in reducing isolation and loneliness.

Encouraging people to walk between key destinations requires plenty of attractions and amenities along the way like benches, gardens, yards, playgrounds, shops, and cafés. These shared spaces help foster intergenerational and cross-cultural connections. Clear, well-defined walking routes will naturally guide people through the town, opening new opportunities for improvement and development.

Well being Economy Alliance & quote from LCR Mayor

Framework – Levering Socio-Economic Progress…

Next Steps

Establish an Action Group to lead this lever.
Audit – social economy and its current social value contribution.
Build relationships with the Metro Mayor and the Wellbeing Economy Alliance.
Build relationships with developers of Birkenhead’s new neighbourhoods (Wirral Waters and Borough Yard).
Build a relationship with the Chamber of Commerce.
Build a relationship with Wirral Met.

Initial Action Plan

Secure Backin’ Birkenhead’s position as a statutory consultee for the Birkenhead 2040 Framework.
Consider establishing a Community Improvement District (CID) – see Power to Change.
Explore becoming a Transition Town, embracing sustainable, community-driven change.
Look into relevant social and circular economy models and supporting practices – see 360 Degree Society
Build partnerships within and beyond Wirral to secure the future readiness of Birkenhead’s next generation.
Hold community conversations about appropriate, affordable housing types and tenures through community conversations.
Develop Living High Street ideas within the grid including Argyle, Market, Duke, Watson, and Chester Streets.

Related Partner Projects

Backin’ Birkenhead is supporting:

Wirral Change – Community Café.
Wirral Change – Social supermarket.
Make It Happen – Community Supermarket.
Make It Happen – Vibrant Village.
MAKE – High Street Innovator project.
Future Yard – development plans.
Open Door Charity – JOY development.
Wirral Mind – The Fountain Project

Framework – Levering Creativity, Culture & Identity…

The characteristics, location and accessibility of Birkenhead make it a natural place for a creative economy
to flourish, alongside small-scale manufacturing, local commercial businesses, and urban living. From
this, a strong creative and cultural community is growing.

Parading Creative Birkenhead

Birkenhead’s iconic townscape provides the perfect backdrop for festivals and cultural events to showcase the town’s imagination, transforming streets into living urban spectacles. Its rich engineering heritage and creative future can come together through open galleries and public art.

A ‘Hidden Birkenhead’ programme could reveal lesser-known stories, bringing heritage to life in imaginative spaces. Reimagined yards and underused places could become hubs for markets, performances, and
community activity, nurturing the town’s creative spirit.

Locally produced signs for businesses and facilities can be bold and sculptural, giving Birkenhead a distinctive identity. Tree planting symbolising the craft of shipbuilding, will value their historic significance in world trade and travel while appreciating their spirit within a contemporary urban habitat.

Promoting Cultural Birkenhead

Birkenhead must embrace culture in its broadest sense, from ‘highbrow’ to ‘everyday’, remembering that culture is not just for adults. Supporting what it means to be Birkenhead is about merging creativity and culture into a shared identity.

Currently, ad-hoc cultural activities are fragile and hard-won, often dependent on short-term grants and dwindling opportunities. The Birkenhead 2040: Culture and Heritage Strategy aims to change this by leveraging the towns cultural assets, growing local talent, encouraging community participation, and partnering with regional and national bodies. Backin’ Birkenhead can play a leading role in supporting and
enhancing this strategy.

Framework – Levering Creativity, Culture & Identity…

Framing Iconic Birkenhead

Birkenhead’s townscape is defined by the Laird grid and its sweeping views across the town and Liverpool’s Waterfront. The panoramas of Birkenhead’s docks and the Mersey, with visiting ships from around the world, are iconic. This vast scale contrasts with the intimacy of the town’s streets and spaces such as Market Street where a human scale creates a sense of homeliness.

These dramatic shifts in scale and perspective are ‘surreal’, making Birkenhead the perfect stage for bold new icons. Linking with the thread of blending park with town, Birkenhead could become a vast open-air
sculpture gallery creating an unforgettable destination with huge visitor appeal.

The Wirral Waterfront, home to the country’s ‘longest promenade’, offers an opportunity to create a counterpart to Liverpool’s. Complementing this, the unique subterranean Dock Branch Park could ‘splash
out’ into the town, bringing biodiversity upwards, truly ‘blending park with town’.

Yards are another defining feature of Birkenhead. Future Yard and START-YARD have already embraced this iconography. Beyond shipyards, the grid creates a network of residential, working, public, and private
courtyards.

Borough Yard, the urban ‘garden’ village emerging on the former gasworks, builds on this concept. Extending the grid, blending park and town, and creating a series of private and public yards will weave a new town tapestry, complete with iconic micro parks and gardens.