Birkenhead, Seacombe and Woodchurch each have up to £20m over ten years. Their first plans go to the Government this month, and Birkenhead's survey is still open.

Three Wirral neighbourhoods are finishing the plans that decide how up to £20 million each will be spent over the next ten years. Central Birkenhead, Seacombe and Woodchurch were picked by the Government for its Pride in Place programme.

Each area’s plan goes to the Government for approval. Birkenhead’s engagement site says its first plan will be submitted in November 2026. Seacombe’s board was working to a 30 November deadline, its draft minutes say.

Residents of central Birkenhead can still have their say online.

How the money is decided

Each area has a neighbourhood board of residents, businesses, community groups, a ward councillor and the local MP. The board, not the council, decides where the money goes. Wirral Council holds the funds as the “accountable body”. (Wirral Council)

The council’s timetable is:

  • Winter 2026 to early 2027: boards submit their plans to the Government
  • Spring 2027: the Government is expected to approve plans and release the first delivery payment

The boards are chaired by Liam Kelly in central Birkenhead, Becky Biddulph in Seacombe and Jenny Allinson in Woodchurch. The MPs on the boards are Alison McGovern, Angela Eagle and Matthew Patrick. (Wirral Council, neighbourhood boards)

What the money can pay for

The programme has nine investment themes. Birkenhead’s engagement site lists them:

  • regeneration, high streets and heritage
  • housing
  • work, productivity and skills
  • cohesion
  • community power
  • health and wellbeing
  • transport
  • safety and security
  • education and opportunity

Projects can be building work or support for community groups and activities. (Birkenhead Pride in Place)

Where each area has got to

Central Birkenhead. The board met on 2 November to review an engagement report and the draft plan. (agenda, PDF) The engagement is run by PLACED, which has held pop-up events and a town hall workshop. Its website says the board can fund projects just outside the boundary if they benefit people inside it.

Seacombe. Draft minutes of the board’s 9 October meeting record that a community event drew 927 people. The board listed early ideas, which it called “quick wins and emerging themes”:

  • Percy Park and the land next to it
  • cleaner, safer streets
  • extending the Seacombe lights up St Paul’s Road and Borough Road
  • Christmas hampers and toys for hard-to-reach families and isolated older residents

The same minutes say feedback had gaps among young people, older residents, businesses, men and ethnic minority communities. Work with the local mosque and with Wirral Change was under way to close them.

The board also questioned what the council charges for running the programme. The minutes say “transparency is needed” on how those costs are calculated and what they cover. Angela Eagle MP had received a reply from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the point. (Seacombe minutes, 9 October, draft, PDF)

Woodchurch. Minutes of the 29 September meeting say the Government has approved the Woodchurch boundary. Its rules of governance were still to be agreed before the plan goes in. Young people had asked for a pump track or bike facility and better youth provision. The board was also looking at a five-year lease on units at Eltham Green, and wanted a business case first. (Woodchurch minutes, 29 September, PDF)

What it means for you

If you live or work in central Birkenhead, you can still shape the first plan:

In Seacombe and Woodchurch, the boards point residents to their Facebook pages, “Seacombe Pride in Place” and “Woodchurch Connect”, for events. Woodchurch’s chair can be reached through the council’s neighbourhood boards page.

The Birkenhead site says the plan will also set out how the community makes funding decisions over the life of the programme. So the first plan is not the last chance to have a say. Board papers and minutes are published on the council’s Pride in Place page.