Development Opportunity: Seaview Road - Site of former Liscard Municipal Buildings and Adjacent Carpark

Description

Wirral Council (the Council) is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. The Council's Economy, Regeneration, and Housing Committee adopted the Neighbourhood Framework for Liscard: An Integrated Master Plan on 22 November 2021. The Masterplan is published on Wirral Council's website, and the vision is to create a Liscard town centre loved by local people where:  Everyone feels welcome;  People can live, work, and play;  There is a strong sense of local identity, and;  People can come together. Members of the Council's Policy and Resources Committee (the Committee) agreed on 12 July 2023 to declare the former Liscard Municipal Offices fronting onto Egerton Grove and the adjacent carpark accessed by Seaview Road and behind businesses fronting on to Seaview Road and Liscard Village (the Site) surplus to requirements (further context on the Site is set out below). The Committee also gave authorisation to progress a procurement process to secure a development partner for the sites' redevelopment on 11 December 2024. The Site was proposed for development as a part of the Masterplan. The Masterplan notes that the Seaview Road carpark was underused relative to other carparks in Liscard area and proposes repurposing the carpark and former municipal offices into housing to attract more local residents and better link the site to Liscard Village. The Council adopted its new Local Plan on 31 March 2025. The Local Plan requires 14,400 net additional dwellings in Wirral by 2040. These are all to be delivered on brownfield sites, including the former Liscard Municipal Offices and adjacent carpark. The 2021 Strategic Housing Market Assessment for Wirral, which was a key piece of evidence in developing the Local Plan, states a need for around 700 affordable homes each year borough-wide. Following the introduction of the new Local Plan system in March 2026, the Council published a Notice to Commence work on a new Local Plan and Timetable at the end of June 2026. An initial Scoping Consultation and Call for Sites exercise was concluded in August 2026. The Council is required to publish its Gateway 1 self-assessment by the 31 October 2026. This will trigger the start of the 30-month period envisaged in the new system for preparing and adopting a new Local Plan. The timetable envisages adoption of the new Local Plan in June 2029. The new Local Plan will need to plan for the significantly higher housing numbers introduced by the new Standard Method - 1,622 dwellings per annum - compared with 800 dwellings per annum under the previous approach. It will also need to take account of the new National Planning Policy Framework issued in August 2026 and the emerging Spatial Development Strategy for the Liverpool City Region (LCR), which will be responsible for distribution of future housing growth across the LCR. A new Strategic Housing Market Needs Assessment for Wirral is about to be commissioned which is likely to report in the second quarter of 2027 which will determine the level of affordable housing need which the new local plan will need to plan for. Whilst there is a high need for all types of affordable housing across the Borough, the greatest pressure for the local authority is for rented affordable housing. As of late March 2026, there were over 4,800 households on the housing waiting list, with over 800 of these having the highest priority need. The Council is now seeking to appoint a Lead Development Partner which can bring skills, experience and expertise in delivering the affordable housing at pace and in line with local housing needs within the Borough. Suppliers are referred to the separate, Development Prospectus document which provides more detailed information on the Site and the opportunity. This can be accessed via the Chest Portal https://procontract.due-north.com DN819286 (the Portal). An initial study of site constraints has been completed. Further detail regarding site constraints can be found within the Development Prospectus and highlights the non-developable aspect of the site to the south to enable ongoing delivery and servicing of neighbouring commercial units. The capacity study has indicated the site can deliver approximately 100 new affordable homes. However, the Council is interested in the commercial acumen and expertise across design and construction from Suppliers; who are encouraged to put forward proposals via the procurement process that best meets the Council's requirements and objectives, which are: (a) Deliver much needed Affordable Housing; and (b) Submit proposals that are guided by the Masterplan contents. Minimum Requirements Noting the above, the Council has set the following Minimum Requirements detailed below: 100% Affordable Housing for Rent; and Delivery of at least 93 units. Further details on the Minimum Requirements referred to above can be found in the Development Prospectus and associated tender documents. Availability of Grant Funding Financial assistance, up to the value of £500,000 may be made available by the Council to the successful Supplier to support the development of the Site. This will be via the Local Regeneration Fund which will be managed by the Council. The grant is available to support with eligible costs associated with design, pre-construction and development phases of the project. This grant funding will be available for draw-down from the date on which the contract is executed with the Council up to 31 March 2028. Suppliers are referred to the contract documents made available with this notice for further details on the grant funding. The estimated value in this notice represents the upper value of the potential range of the gross development value of the scheme which is between £15,000,000 (excluding VAT) / £18,000,000 (including VAT) - £20,000,000 (excluding VAT) / £24,000,000 (including VAT). However, potential returns will depend on many commercial factors including (but not limited to) the performance of the developer and market conditions. Suppliers should seek independent legal and commercial advice in relation to the development potential of the site and the potential value of the opportunity. The following associated tender documents are being provided with the publication of this tender notice to provide further information about the procurement and are available via the Portal:  Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ);  Invitation to Submit Draft Solutions (ISDS);  Development Prospectus;  Development Agreement (including Agreement for Lease);  Building Lease;  Land Transfer;  Title Report and CPSEs; and  Site Investigations and Reports. The following associated tender documents will be made available later through the Portal to suppliers shortlisted to participate in the tender stage of the competitive flexible procedure:  Invitation to Continue Dialogue (ITCD);  Invitation to Submit Final Tenders (ISFT). This procurement concerns the award of a public contract via the competitive flexible procedure in accordance with s20(1) and (2)(b) of the Procurement Act 2023. The Development Agreement is a concession contract as defined in s8 of the Procurement Act 2023, the main object of which is the delivery of works. The CPV codes included in this notice provide transparency on the range of works and/or services that may be required as part of the scheme.